Objective: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was identified in 1989. In 2020, three decades after HCV identification, three researchers won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of this virus. In 1992, three years after the discovery, interferon (IFN) was launched as the first anti-HCV therapy in Japan; however, the efficacy of IFN therapy was far from acceptable due to severe adverse effects. The advent of IFN-free direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) in 2014 dramatically improved the outcomes of antiviral treatment without serious adverse effects. In this study, we aimed to summarize anti-HCV therapy at the Tokai University Hospital.
Methods: We identified patients who underwent anti-HCV therapy by searching medical records from January 1992 to December 2020, analyzed their background, and compared safety and efficacy among treatments.
Results: A total of 1777 treatments were given to 1299 patients. The sustained virologic response rate has dramatically increased over the past 30 years, with only 7% for IFN monotherapy and 95% or higher for recent IFN-free DAA therapies.
Conclusions: We documented the results of anti-HCV therapy at the Tokai University Hospital. In the 30 years since the discovery of HCV, surprisingly successful progress has been accomplished in the anti-HCV treatment.