Randomized Trial of 24 or 48 Weeks of Peginterferon Alfa-2a Plus Ribavirin for HCV Genotype 1-infected Patients

September 7, 2009 updated by: National Taiwan University Hospital

Randomized Trial of 24 or 48 Weeks of Peginterferon Alfa-2a Plus Ribavirin for Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 1-infected Patients in Taiwan

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is prevalent in the world, affecting 3% of the world's population. The current standard of therapy is pegylated interferon and ribavirin, reaching 54-63% of successful rates. In patients with HCV genotype 1 infection, a 48 week course of combination therapy has achieved a higher successful rate that a 24 weeks course of therapy. However, several studies in Taiwan have shown that a 24 week course of therapy has comparable or even better response to a 48 week course of therapy in Western countries. Therefore, whether a 48 week course of therapy can achieve a higher response to a 24 week course of therapy in Taiwanese patients with genotype 1 HCV infection remains unclear.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Combination therapy with interferon alfa (IFN-α) plus ribavirin for 24 to 48 weeks produces sustained virologic response (SVR) rate in approximately 31-47% of treatment naïve patients with chronic hepatitis C.(1-5) Patients with genotype 1 virus infection are less likely to have SVR that those with other genotypes infection, and therefore, patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 should receive treatment for 48 weeks.(6) Recently, combination therapy with pegylated interferon alfa (pegylated IFN-α) plus ribavirin produces higher SVR rates (54-56%) than that with IFN-α plus ribavirin.(7,8) Furthermore, a large trial assessing the effect and duration of pegylated IFN-α plus ribavirin showed that the overall SVR rate was 63%. Among patients with genotype 1 HCV infection, standard dose ribavirin (1000 to 1200 mg per day) and 48 weeks of treatment were significantly more effective than low dose ribavirin (800 mg per day) or 24 weeks of treatment.(9) The SVR rate was 51% for genotype 1 patients receiving pegylated IFN-α plus standard dose ribavirin for 48 weeks, whereas only 29% and 41% for those receiving pegylated IFN-α plus low dose ribavirin and standard dose ribavirin for 24 weeks, respectively. Based on these lines of evidence, 48 weeks of therapy with pegylated IFN-α (pegylated IFN-α 2a 180 μg or pegylated IFN-α 2b 1.5 μg per kilogram body weight weekly) plus ribavirin (1000 to 1200 mg per day) is recommended to treat patients with HCV genotype 1 infection.(10) In Taiwan, a multicenter study showed that a 6 month course treatment with pegylated IFN-α plus standard dose ribavirin had a comparable SVR rate to that with IFN-α plus standard dose ribavirin (67.1% versus 63.6%) in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Subgroup analysis showed that treatment with pegylated IFN-α plus standard dose ribavirin had a significantly higher SVR rate to that with IFN-α plus standard dose ribavirin (65.8% versus 41.0%) in patients with genotype 1 HCV infection.(11) Recently, a pilot study comparing 24 and 48 weeks of pegylated IFN-α plus standard dose ribavirin in patients with genotype 1 HCV infection showed that 48 weeks of treatment is more efficacious that 24 weeks of treatment (SVR rate: 80.0% versus 48.9%).(12) However, much difference of SVR rates occurred in these two studies, making optimal therapy in Taiwanese patients infected with genotype 1 HCV difficult to be determined. In the study, we aim to investigate in a large cohort whether 48 weeks treatment with pegylated IFN-α plus standard dose ribavirin is more efficacious than 24 weeks treatment in patients with genotype 1 HCV infection.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

308

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
      • Douliou, Taiwan
        • National Taiwan University Hospital, Yun-Lin Branch
      • Taichung, Taiwan
        • Taichung Veterans General Hospital
      • Taipei, Taiwan, 100
        • National Taiwan University Hospital
      • Taipei, Taiwan
        • Far Eastern Memorial Hospital
      • Taipei, Taiwan
        • Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital
      • Taipei, Taiwan
        • Ren-Ai Branch, Taipei Municipal Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Treatment naïve
  • Age 18 and older than 18 years old
  • Anti-HCV (Abbott HCV EIA 2.0, Abbott Diagnostic, Chicago, IL) positive > 6 months
  • Detectable serum quantitative HCV-RNA (Cobas Amplicor HCV Monitor v2.0, Roche Molecular Systems, Pleasanton, CA) with dynamic range 600~<500,000 IU/ml
  • HCV genotype 1 (Inno-LiPA HCV II, Innogenetics, Ghent, Belgium)
  • Serum alanine aminotransferase levels above the upper limit of normal with 6 months of enrollment
  • A liver biopsy consistent with the diagnosis of chronic hepatitis C

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Anemia (hemoglobin < 13 gram per deciliter for men and < 12 gram per deciliter for women)
  • Neutropenia (neutrophil count <1,500 per cubic milliliter)
  • Thrombocytopenia (platelet <90,000 per cubic milliliter)
  • Co-infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
  • Chronic alcohol abuse (daily consumption > 20 gram per day)
  • Decompensated liver disease (Child-Pugh class B or C)
  • Serum creatinine level more than 1.5 times the upper limit of normal
  • Autoimmune liver disease
  • Neoplastic disease
  • An organ transplant
  • Immunosuppressive therapy
  • Poorly controlled autoimmune diseases, pulmonary diseases, cardiac diseases, psychiatric diseases, neurological diseases, diabetes mellitus
  • Evidence of drug abuse
  • Unwilling to have contraception

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Peginterfron and ribavirin (24 weeks)
Pegylated interferon alfa-2a (Pegasys, F. Hoffmann-LaRoche) 180 ug/week plus ribavirin (Robatrol, F. Hoffmann-LaRoche) 1000-1200 mg/day (<75 kg, 1000 mg/day; >= 75 kg, 1200 mg/day) for 24 weeks
Drug: Pegylated interferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin
Pegylated interferon alfa-2a (Pegasys, F. Hoffmann-LaRoche) 180 ug/week plus ribavirin (Robatrol, F. Hoffmann-LaRoche) 1000-1200 mg/day (<75 kg, 1000 mg/day; >= 75 kg, 1200 mg/day) for 24 weeks
Other Names:
  • Pegasys plus Robatrol
Drug: Pegylated interferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin
Pegylated interferon alfa-2a (Pegasys, F. Hoffmann-LaRoche) 180 ug/week plus ribavirin (Robatrol, F. Hoffmann-LaRoche) 1000-1200 mg/day (<75 kg, 1000 mg/day; >= 75 kg, 1200 mg/day) for 48 weeks
Other Names:
  • Pegasys plus Robatrol
Active Comparator: Peginterferon and ribavirin (48 weeks)
Pegylated interferon alfa-2a (Pegasys, F. Hoffmann-LaRoche) 180 ug/week plus ribavirin (Robatrol, F. Hoffmann-LaRoche) 1000-1200 mg/day (<75 kg, 1000 mg/day; >= 75 kg, 1200 mg/day) for 48 weeks
Drug: Pegylated interferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin
Pegylated interferon alfa-2a (Pegasys, F. Hoffmann-LaRoche) 180 ug/week plus ribavirin (Robatrol, F. Hoffmann-LaRoche) 1000-1200 mg/day (<75 kg, 1000 mg/day; >= 75 kg, 1200 mg/day) for 24 weeks
Other Names:
  • Pegasys plus Robatrol
Drug: Pegylated interferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin
Pegylated interferon alfa-2a (Pegasys, F. Hoffmann-LaRoche) 180 ug/week plus ribavirin (Robatrol, F. Hoffmann-LaRoche) 1000-1200 mg/day (<75 kg, 1000 mg/day; >= 75 kg, 1200 mg/day) for 48 weeks
Other Names:
  • Pegasys plus Robatrol

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Sustained Virologic Response
Time Frame: 18 months
Undetectable HCV RNA 6 months off therapy
18 months
Sustained Biochemical Response
Time Frame: 18 months
Sustained biochemical response (SBR): alanine aminotransferase (ALT) normalization
18 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Treatment-related Withdrawal Rate
Time Frame: 18 months
Treatment-related withdrawal rate: patients who prematurely discontinued treatment due to treatment-related adverse events
18 months
Histologic Response
Time Frame: 18 months
Histologic response: improvement of at least 2 grade of scores by Ishak liver histologic classification by end of follow up liver biopsy to baseline liver biopsy
18 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National Taiwan University Hospital

Collaborators

National Science Council, Taiwan

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Chun-Jen Liu, MD, PhD, National Taiwan University Hospital
  • Principal Investigator: Chen-Hua Liu, MD, National Taiwan University Hospital
  • Study Chair: Jia-Horng Kao, MD, PhD, National Taiwan University Hospital
  • Study Director: Ding-Shinn Chen, MD, National Taiwan University Hospital
  • Study Director: Ming-Yang Lai, MD, PhD, National Taiwan University Hospital
  • Study Director: Pei-Jer Chen, MD, PhD, National Taiwan University Hospital
  • Principal Investigator: Sheng-Shun Yang, MD, Taichung Veterans General Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

June 1, 2006

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2008

Study Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2008

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 29, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 29, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

July 2, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

September 10, 2009

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 7, 2009

Last Verified

September 1, 2009

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 200705080M

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Hepatitis C, Chronic

Clinical Trials on Pegylated interferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Saudi Arabia

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

3
Subscribe