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Half of all patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection do not respond to peginterferon and ribavirin therapy, and, for these nonresponders, no effective treatment regimens exist. Investigators in the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-term Treatment against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) trial evaluated the efficacy of maintenance peginterferon for HCV patients with significant fibrosis and no response to previous HCV therapy.
A total of 1050 participants were enrolled from 10 U.S. centers. Participants were stratified as Ishak score 3 or 4 (noncirrhotic, but significant fibrosis) or Ishak score 5 or 6 (compensated cirrhosis). The study design included a lead-in phase during which patients were treated with peginterferon (180 µg weekly) and ribavirin (1000…