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Dear Colleague:
The current standard of care for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C is peginterferon/ribavirin combination therapy, resulting in cure in more than half of all patients treated. This highly effective regimen, however, presents both patients and clinicians with a treatment dilemma. Peginterferon can cause bone marrow suppression and ribavirin causes hemolytic anemia in many patients, leading to fatigue and a negative impact on quality of life. This in turn may lead to dose reduction or discontinuation of treatment, thereby potentially undermining the effectiveness of therapy. New Data on Managing Anemia with Growth Factors for Patients on Anti-HCV Therapy: Examining the Evidence offers physicians clinically relevant information, which represents an important tool in the management of treatment-associated anemia.
Fortunately, clinical experience in other patient populations provides a valuable model of care for patients with hepatitis C. The recombinant human erythropoietin, epoetin alfa, has a 10-year history of safety and efficacy in the treatment of anemia in cancer and HIV-infected patients. Data from recent clinical studies suggest that epoetin alfa may also be successfully used in your HCV-infected patients to manage treatment-related anemia and optimize outcomes. This Tx Reporter provides you with a comprehensive discussion of epoetin alfa and ribavirin-induced anemia. It presents the history of epoetin alfa in the treatment of therapy-induced anemia in cancer and HIV-infected patients. It then applies this experience to treating ribavirin-induced anemia in the HCV-infected patient and gives practical advice for the physician who wants to provide the most up-to-date care to HCV-infected patients with ribavirin-induced anemia. A special feature on the management of ribavirin-induced anemia in HIV/HCV coinfected patients, a group recommended for anti-HCV treatment by the NIH in its Consensus Statement issued in June 2002, is included.
We invite you to examine this Tx Reporter, and assure you that you will find it educational, engaging, and of invaluable use in your day-to-day practice of treating HCV-infected patients.
Sincerely,
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Co-Chair
Luis A. Balart, MD
Louisiana State University
School of Medicine
New Orleans, Louisiana |
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Co-Chair
Mark S. Sulkowski, MD
The Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland |
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