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United States Department of Veterans Affairs

United States Department of Veterans Affairs

National Hepatitis C Program

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Treatment Decisions

What factors can affect outcomes?

Not everyone will have the same results from hepatitis C treatment. The following are some things that can affect how the treatment works:

Factor	Effects
Viral genotype (the type of hepatitis C virus you have)	Not all hepatitis C viruses are the same. We know of 6 different types--called genotypes--for hepatitis C. Some of them respond to treatment better than others. For genotype 1, the virus generally is removed in 30-50% of patients. For genotypes 2 or 3, the virus usually is removed in 65-80% of patients.
Viral load	This is the amount of virus in your blood. If you have lower levels of virus in your blood when you start treatment, you may have a better chance of getting rid of the virus. (Note: A high viral load does not necessarily mean you have worse liver damage.)
Iron	If you have less iron in your blood or in your liver cells, your treatment may work better. Iron levels can be checked with a blood test or a liver biopsy.
Gender	Hepatitis C treatment works slightly better for women than for men.
Ongoing use of alcohol	Studies have found that patients who continue to drink alcohol regularly during treatment have lower rates of clearing the virus.
Ethnicity	Studies in the United States have shown that African American patients have lower rates of clearing the virus than do Caucasian patients, though the reasons are not apparent. Other ethnic groups have not been studied as well, but there may be other differences in response rates among ethnic groups.
Length of infection	You may have a better chance of clearing the virus from your body if you haven't been infected with the hepatitis C virus for very long.
Adherence (taking medications as prescribed)	Adherence to prescribed medications can be challenging but is a very important part of making sure the treatment works. Studies have shown that patients who receive adequate doses of interferon and ribavirin have much higher rates of clearing the virus.
Obesity	A number of studies have shown that patients who are overweight have lower rates of clearing the virus. If you are overweight, losing some weight prior to treatment may make the medications more effective.

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Reviewed/Updated Date: February 8, 2007