A prospective, randomized trial comparing lymphoblastoid to recombinant interferon alfa 2a as therapy for chronic hepatitis C

To compare the long-term effectiveness and tolerability of lymphoblastoid interferon (IFN-αN1) and recombinant interferon alfa 2a (IFN- α2a) in patients with chronic hepatitis caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV), 234 consecutive patients with HCV-related chronic hepatitis were randomized prospectively to receive titrated doses (starting dose 6 million units [MU]) of IFN-α2a (n = 118) or IFN-αN1 (n = 116) for 12 months. HCV RNA was detected by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), quantified by branched-DNA (bDNA) assay, and genotyped by reverse hybridization assay. Thirty-one patients in the IFN-α2a group and 28 in the IFN-αN1 group (total, 59 [25%] had normal transaminases and undetectable HCV RNA by RT-PCR after 12 months of therapy, but only 19 in the first group and 20 in the second group (total, 39 [17%]) had biochemical and virological responses 12 months after treatment was discontinued. The two treatment groups differed in terms of prevalence of major drug-related adverse reactions (23% vs. 37%, P = .025). The mean total dose per patient was similar for the two groups, i.e., 502 MU IFN-α2a vs. 496 MU IFN-αN1, and the cost of each sustained response was $31,800 and $32,440, respectively. By multivariate analysis, pretreatment viremia higher than 0.2 MEq/mL and infection with genotype 1 were independently associated to treatment failure. The outcome of treatment in chronic hepatitis C patients was not improved by the administration of high cumulative doses of lymphoblastoid IFN.