Treatment of Hepatitis C Virus Infection

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis. The acute process rarely causes hepatic failure, but usually leads to chronic infection. In contrast, chronic HCV infection clearly linked to advanced liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and has become the leading indication for liver transplantation. Treatment of chronic HCV is aimed at slowing disease progression, preventing complications of cirrhosis, reducing the risk of HCC, and treating extrahepatic complications of the virus. The natural history of hepatitis C is quite variable. Up to 85% of patients with acute HCV eventually progress to chronic infection. Of them, 15-20% of patients will develop cirrhosis within 15-20 years.