Long-term improvement of hepatic fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C treated with interferon-α

We examined the changes of hepatic fibrosis for several years following interferon-α (IFN-α) treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C. This study included 37 complete responders (CR) and 37 non-responders (NR) to IFN-α treatment. The period of post-treatment was 6–50 months. The scores for periportal necrosis, intralobular inflammation, portal inflammation and fibrosis before and after treatment were compared. Furthermore, the serum fibrosis markers (hyaluronic acid (HA), N-terminal amino peptide of type III procollagen (PIIIP), Type IV collagen) before and after treatment were compared in 11 CR and 14 NR. In the CR, the scores for histological findings were significantly decreased compared to those before treatment. Especially, in five of the 37 CR, the hepatic fibrosis disappeared and improved to almost normal after treatment. In the CR, the serum levels of HA and PIIIP after treatment were also significantly decreased compared to those before treatment. In the NR, however, the grade of fibrosis after treatment was more severe than that before treatment. These findings suggest that liver histology containing hepatic fibrosis is improved in patients who are continuously negative for hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA through several years after IFN-α treatment.