The current standard treatment for chronic hepatitis C with pegylated-interferon (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin is effective in approximately 50%-60% of patients, so that a substantial proportion of patients remain unresponsive. A rational approach to develop alternative therapeutic strategies for patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection demands a detailed knowledge of how the different drugs affect viral kinetics and IFN intracellular signaling. Non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been demonstrated to amplify the IFN signaling pathways and to enhance the anti-viral effect of IFN.
Based on previous data, a research team from Italy evaluated the safety of adding ketoprofen to pegylated-interferon (PEG-IFN) with or without ribavirin and the effect on viral kinetics, signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) activity and expression of 2'-5'-oligoadenylate synthetase (2'-5'OAS) in genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C in a phase Ⅱ study. Their study will be published on December 21, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.
Their research found that the addition of ketoprofen to the conventional combination therapy is associated with better viral kinetics and early activation of the IFNa signaling pathway, thus improving virological response rates. The authors postulated that a larger trial should be done with this three-drug combination, compared to the standard of care.
Reference: Gramenzi A, Cursaro C, Margotti M, Balsano C, Spaziani A, Anticoli S, Loggi E, Salerno M, Galli S, Furlini G, Bernardi M, Andreone P. Ketoprofen, peginterferon 2a and ribavirin for genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C: A phase Ⅱ study. World J Gastroenterol 2009; 15(47): 5946-5952 http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/15/5946.asp
Correspondence to: Pietro Andreone, Professor, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bologna, via Massarenti 9, 40138 Bologna, Italy. pietro.andreone@unibo.it Telephone: +39-51-6363618 Fax: +39-51-345806
About World Journal of Gastroenterology
World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG), a leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, has established a reputation for publishing first class research on esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer, and H pylori infection and provides a forum for both clinicians and scientists. WJG has been indexed and abstracted in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Index Medicus, MEDLINE and PubMed, Chemical Abstracts, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Abstracts Journals, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, CAB Abstracts and Global Health. ISI JCR 2008 IF: 2.081. WJG is a weekly journal published by WJG Press. The publication dates are the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of every month. WJG is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30224801 and No. 30424812, and was founded with the name of China National Journal of New Gastroenterology on October 1, 1995, and renamed WJG on January 25, 1998.
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World Journal of Gastroenterology