Volume 75 - 2012 - Fasc.2 - Expert Point of View
Update of the Belgian Association for the Study of the Liver Guidelines for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C Genotype 1 with Protease Inhibitors
Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) affects approximate- ly 170 million people worldwide. Hepatitis C virus- induced cirrhosis remains the most common indication for liver transplantation and is a major contributor to the worldwide increase in the incidence of hepatocellular cancer (1). Among the six major genotypes, genotype 1 is the most common and difficult to treat. Treatment for this disease has consisted of therapies that stimulate the immune system and interfere in a nonspecific manner with viral replication. For the past decade, the standard of care for patients with chronic infection with genotype 1 HCV has been 48-week treatment of pegylated inter- feron (pegIFN) alfa and ribavirin (RBV).
