Efficacy of Interferon-Free Therapies for Chronic Hepatitis C: A Systematic Review of All Randomized Clinical Trials
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Second-generation direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have recently arisen as more effective and safer treatments for chronic hepatitis C. These drugs can be combined into treatments without interferon (IFN), and are therefore called IFN-free therapies.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study systematic review was to evaluate the efficacy of IFN-free therapies for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, and thus increase the clinical evidence for these therapies.
METHODS: A systematic review was conducted in accordance with Cochrane Collaboration recommendations. A search was performed in six different electronic databases using 'clinical trials', 'hepatitis C' and 'interferon-free' as the main descriptors, and studies that conformed to the inclusion criteria had their data extracted, including study information, baseline characteristics, and efficacy outcomes (sustained virologic response, rapid virologic response, and virologic failure).
RESULTS: Sixty-four randomized clinical trials including 15 different therapies were included in a total of 15,731 patients infected with the hepatitis C virus, mostly with genotype 1, and mainly treated for 12 or 24 weeks. The sustained virologic response rate after 12 weeks of treatment was approximately 89%, while the virologic failure rate was below 5%.
CONCLUSIONS: Second-generation DAAs presented several advantages: virologic response values higher than the average achieved by previous IFN-based therapies, reduced…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a systematic review, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 15,731 participants or records.
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