[Guidelines for the treatment of chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis due to hepatitis C virus infection for the fiscal year 2014 in Japan].

In the 2014 guidelines for the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C, Simeprevir, pegylated interferon (Peg-IFN) and ribavirin combination therapy for 24 weeks are indicated to treatment-naive patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) of genotype 1. Retreatment is aimed to either eradicate HCV or normalize transaminase levels for preventing the development of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC), taking into consideration causes for the failure in the initial treatment. Moreover, daclatasvir plus asunaprevir are indicated to interferon-ineligible/intolerant patients and nonresponder(null and partial) patients infected genotype 1b. For patients with compensated cirrhosis, the clearance of HCV RNA is aimed toward improving histological damages and decreasing the development of HCC. When the prevention of HCC is at issue, not only IFN, but also liver supportive therapy such as Stronger Neo-Minophagen C, ursodeoxycholic acid, phlebotomy, branched chain amino acids (BCAA), either alone or in combination, are given.