A sustained virological response (SVR) was defined as a persistent serum HCV RNA clearance for 24 weeks after the completion of therapy. A patient was considered to have relapsed when the HCV RNA was detected again after discontinuation of treatment after it was reduced to undetectable levels over the course of treatment. Patients Fingolimod for whom HCV RNA levels remained detectable at the end of treatment were considered nonresponders (NR). Progression to decompensated liver disease or development of HCC during the follow-up period were included as possible long-term outcomes of patients who received combination therapy. Statistical analysis The Chi square and the Fisher’s exact test were employed when necessary for comparison of categorical variables, and the Student’s t-test was used for comparison of continuous variables.

Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to study the influence of different variables on achievement of a SVR. Differences were considered as significant when the p-value was < 0.05. All calculations were performed using the SPSS statistical package (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). RESULTS Ninety-four of the 138 patients (initial treatment group) underwent IFN-�� plus ribavirin combination therapy as their initial therapy and forty-four patients (retreatment group) received retreatment therapy. The patient characteristics of the two groups are shown in Table 1. There were no significant differences in age, gender, or baseline laboratory findings between the two groups.

Table 1 Base-line Characteristics of Patients Virological response in initial and retreatment patients The proportions of patients grouped according to the efficacies of both treatments are reported in Table 2. For all the enrolled patients, a SVR was observed in 57 of 138 patients (41.3%). There were no significant differences in SVR (42.5% vs. 39% respectively) between the initial and retreatment groups. In the retreatment group, 20 patients had been treated by previous IFN monotherapy and 24 patients had been treated by previous IFN plus ribavirin combination therapy. The proportion of patients grouped according to the efficacies of the retreatment groups as categorized by previous treatment responses is reported in Table 3. None of nonresponders to previous combination therapy had SVR on retreatment, whereas the SVR of the other patients was comparable to the initial treatment group.

Table 2 Response Rates after Treatment According to ETR, SVR, and Relapse or NR Table 3 Treatment Responses in the Retreatment Group According to the ETR, SVR, and Relapse or NR Variables associated Anacetrapib with SVR; pre-treatment and on-treatment predictors The SVR was unrelated to gender, age, baseline ALT or biopsy stage before treatment In this study, the on-treatment predictors for response rates were analyzed as follows: out of the 88 patients with ALT normalization at 4 weeks after the initiation of therapy, 44 (32%) achieved a SVR.