Predictors of Response to Combined Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin in Chronic Hepatitis C Infected Egyptian Patients

Retrospective prospective cohort study conducted on HCV infected patients treated with Interferon alpha therapy, the retrospective part of the study includes the data of the patients retrieved from medical records from the period from September 2006 till January 2011. Then from January 2011 the study became prospective national study. Responders to therapy were defined by normalization of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and absence of detectable serum HCV RNA at the end of treatment (48 weeks). Relapsed responders to therapy were defined by normalization of serum ALT and absence of detectable serum HCV RNA at the end of treatment but with an increase of the serum ALT and the presence of HCV RNA at follow-up 72 weeks). Non-responders were defined by elevated serum ALT and the presence of HCV RNA at the end of treatment. All patients will sign a written informed consent to share in this clinical registry by their data and biological samples. Sub-studies will be conducted on subgroups of patients sharing in this main study after signing a written informed consent.