Updates on antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major public health problem around the world and it is estimated that there are about 200 million infections globally. The majority of HCV infected patients develop chronic infection, which can progress to liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver failure. Since the discovery of the virus in 1989, impressive progress has been made in the treatment of HCV hepatitis. However, the actual standard of care in treating HCV infection, represented by the combination therapy of pegylated interferon alpha 2a or 2b with ribavirin, fails to cure near half of treated patients. This paper aimed to trace a brief overview of the progress made by interferon-based treatments for HCV hepatitis since their introduction in the early 1990s, and to highlight the results of recent clinical studies concerning new and emerging drugs.