A Randomized Trial of 24-Week Versus 48-Week Courses of Peginterferon Plus Ribavirin for Patients With Genotype 1 Hepatitis C and IL28B CC Polymorphism

Exclusion Criteria

• •Previous treatment for chronic Hepatitis C
• •clinical or biological evidence of acute hepatitis, including serum ALT or AST \> 300U/ml
• •HIV antibody positive, hepatitis b surface antigen positive or known diagnosis of other chronic liver disease
• •Contraindications to PR-based treatment:
• •* Uncontrolled psychiatric illness
• •* Active substance dependency
• •* Known autoimmune disorder
• •* Untreated thyroid disease
• •* Uncontrolled seizure disorder
• •* Pregnancy, lactation or inability to maintain contraception
• •* Chronic kidney disease w/ estimated GFR\< 60
• •* ANC\<1.5/nl, Hb\<12g/dl, or platelets\<75/nl
• •Clinical or biochemical evidence of decompensated liver disease including:
• •* History of encephalopathy
• •* Ascites
• •* Variceal bleeding
• •* Bilirubin \> 3g/dl or INR \> 1.5
• •* Life threatening disorder with expected median survival less than 5 years
• •* Inability to comply with drug regimens or testing schedule required for study