Hepatitis C: Progress and challenges

Chronic infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality both in the United States and abroad. Current drug treatment is expensive, takes more than 6 months to complete, has only a ∼50% success rate, and induces severe side effects, which many patients cannot tolerate. Patients who do not respond or cannot endure drug treatment are likely to suffer from cirrhosis and may enter liver failure or develop primary hepatocellular carcinoma. Traditional liver transplant can extend lives in some cases, but does not cure the infection. This grim picture is in the process of being improved by antiviral drug research, new liver transplant techniques, and the first steps toward an HCV vaccine. While the new drugs and vaccines are still in the early trial stages, considerable resources are being devoted to their development.