Pharmacogenomics of hepatitis C infections: personalizing therapy.

ABSTRACT: It is a widely held view that drug response genes have not proved as useful in clinical practice as anticipated at the start of the genomic era. An exception is in the treatment for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection with pegylated interferon α and ribavirin. In 2009, four independent genome-wide analyses identified IL28B polymorphisms that predict drug response in chronic hepatitis C (CHC). This discovery had immediate clinical impact. First, the IL28B genotype could be used to personalize therapy. In the 2 years since discovery, most of the more than 100,000 CHC patients commencing therapy for CHC in the West will have considered IL28B genotype testing. Second, the discovery has supported clinical trials for the use of the protein encoded by the gene known as interferon

SUBMITTER: Booth DR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3580439 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature