Most of those who went into remission were asymptomatic and had no cirrhosis. Deaths were rare, and the researchers found no hepatoma. Even mild infection can lead to long-term inflammatory activity and eventual cirrhosis. The most serious disease associated with hepatitis C is hepatoma, which affects only patients with cirrhosis. Surgical resection is the treatment of choice, but it's appropriate for only a small minority of patients.
Detection is generally late and the prognosis very poor, with death occurring within months.
Fortunately, hepatitis C patients without cirrhosis are not at risk for hepatoma. All patients with chronic hepatitis C should be referred to have liver-disease testing and evaluation for therapy. Most patients with liver-enzyme measurements more than twice the normal level are candidates for this new therapy. But other factors, such as the patient's age, duration of the illness, and the presence of cirrhosis need to be considered. Candidates for interferon therapy must have normal thyroid-stimulating hormone, serum bilirubin, albumin, and creatinine levels.