HCV TREATMENT IN AFRICAN AMERICANS VS NON HISPANIC WHIT*

The proposed project is a 5-year multicenter open-label trial designed to evaluate the efficacy of 40 kDa Pegylated interferon alfa-2a (Peginterferon alfa-2a) in combination with Ribavirin in the treatment of genotype-1 chronic hepatitis C (HCV, genotype-1) in African American men and women as compared to non-Hispanic whites. The Primary Aim of this proposal is to establish rates of sustained virologic response to a 48-week course of Peginterferon alfa-2a in combination with ribavirin in African Americans as compared to non-Hispanic whites with chronic HCV genotype 1 as assessed at the end of 48-week post-treatment follow-up by HCV RNA (