RT Journal
A1 Pacanowski M, Amur S, Zineh I
T1 NEw genetic discoveries and treatment for hepatitis c
JF JAMA
JO JAMA
YR 2012
FD May 9
VO 307
IS 18
SP 1921
OP 1922
DO 10.1001/jama.2012.3516
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2012.3516
AB 
Treatment of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a prototype for personalized medicine. Combination therapy with peginterferon alfa plus ribavirin was the standard of care for more than a decade. Greater understanding of the disease and determinants of treatment response have improved sustained virologic response (SVR) rates from less than 10% with interferon alfa in the 1990s to more than 80% with contemporary triple therapy regimens that include direct acting antivirals (DAAs) (Figure). Patient-specific factors such as viral genotype and early on-treatment responses are considered in therapeutic individualization. New approaches to search the human genome for predictors of drug response led to the discovery that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) near the host IL28B gene are among the strongest predictors of response to peginterferon alfa and ribavirin. This Viewpoint discusses the evolution of CHC pharmacogenetics, its real-time incorporation into recent regulatory science evaluations, and its application in future drug development.