tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5538539029544017314.post-24380718332214628532009-03-28T04:56:00.000-07:002009-03-28T04:57:55.683-07:00<div id="lw_context_ads"><br />Results of the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment Against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) trial—one of the most anticipated clinical trials in years— were highly disappointing. The multicenter study showed "without question that maintenance therapy with peginterferon does not prevent progression of liver disease among patients who have failed prior treatments," says James Everhart, MD, the National Institute of Health's HALT-C project scientist.1<br /><br />HALT-C outcomes were death, liver cancer or liver failure, and/or cirrhosis. At the end of the study, 34.1% of the treated group and 33.8% of the control group had experienced at least one outcome. While patients in the treated group had significantly lower blood levels of the hepatitis C virus and improvement in liver inflammation, there was no major difference in rates of their primary outcomes.<br /><br />Although the protocol did lower the "so-called necro-inflammatory score," it was not associated with any benefit, says John Lake, MD, director of the Liver Transplant Program, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. "That was really surprising. They achieved what they wanted to achieve, but it didn't have the downstream effect they were looking for," he says.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br /><br /></div><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5538539029544017314-2438071833221462853?l=clinicaltrialsweb.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>RickyFannoreply@blogger.com1