Treatment of hepatitis C virus infection: From therapy with interferon to direct-acting antivirals

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global public health concern. An es-timated of 58 million people with chronic HCV infection are at risk of de-veloping cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. Since the discovery of HCV in 1989, the search for a treatment to achieve viral clearance has been one of the main research goals, which is why this review focuses on the diffe-rent treatments for HCV infection. In the 80s, therapies with interferon-alpha, and pegylated interferon-alpha in monotherapy or combination with ribavirin began. However, sustained viral response (SVR) was achieved in a limited percentage of patients. First-generation direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) were approved in 2011, and new DAAs with SVR rates greater than 95% were developed in the last 10 years. However, mutations associated with resis-tance to DAAs have recently been reported, especially in HCV genotypes 1, subgenotype 1a, and 3. Finally, it is important to note that viral clearance af-ter DAA treatment does not eliminate the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with liver cirrhosis.