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Response-Guided Therapy

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Chronic Hepatitis C Virus

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Abstract

The treatment of chronic HCV has traditionally been for a fixed duration based upon genotype. We now recognize that patients respond to treatment along different time lines. This appears to be secondary to various demographic, biochemical, histologic, virologic, and genetic host factors. The time that it requires for a patient to become HCV RNA undetectable after initiating treatment is now recognized as the most important determinant of sustained virologic response. This information can be utilized to adjust the duration of peginterferon and ribavirin, either shorter or longer, and allows therapy to be tailored to the specific needs of each patient. This concept is referred to as response-guided therapy and has already been applied to treatment of chronic HCV with direct acting anti-viral agents.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bon Secours Health System, Liver Institute of Virginia, 12720 McManus Boulevard, Suite 313, Richmond and Newport News, VA, 23602, USA

    Mitchell L. Shiffman MD

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  1. Mitchell L. Shiffman MD
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Correspondence to Mitchell L. Shiffman MD .

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  1. Bon Secours Health System, Liver Institute of Virginia, McManus Blvd., Suite 313 12720, Newport News, 23602, Virginia, USA

    Mitchell L. Shiffman

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Shiffman, M.L. (2012). Response-Guided Therapy. In: Shiffman, M. (eds) Chronic Hepatitis C Virus. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1192-5_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1192-5_13

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