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In the prior, industry-funded ACCELERATE trial, patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 2 or 3 were randomized to receive peginterferon alfa-2a (180 μg/week) plus ribavirin (800 mg/day) for 16 or 24 weeks. The rate of sustained virologic response (SVR) — an undetectable serum HCV RNA level (<50 IU/mL) 24 weeks after the end of treatment — was significantly lower in the 16-week group (JW Gastroenterol Jul 11 2007).
To determine whether 16-week treatment might nonetheless be sufficient in a subgroup of these patients, researchers examined data from 863 ACCELERATE participants who had completed their assigned treatments and had achieved rapid virologic response (RVR; undetectable viral load at 4 weeks).
Within this RVR subgroup, the rate …