RESPONSE TO INTERFERON-ALPHA THERAPY IS INFLUENCED BY THE IRON CONTENT OF THE LIVER

Seventy-nine subjects (19 women and 60 men) with chronic viral hepatitis were studied to determine the role of hepatic iron and its biochemical correlates in determining response to interferon a therapy. Each subject was treated for 6 months with interferon alpha. A total of 45 (57%) subjects achieved either a full or partial response. No differences between responders and non-responders were evident for the type of hepatitis, age, initial alanine aminotransferase, serum iron, total iron binding capacity, %sat, or ferritin. In contrast, the hepatic iron content of non-responders was almost twice that of responders (1156+/-283 mu g/g dry weight vs. 638+/-118; p<0.05). Hepatic iron correlated with total iron binding capacity (r=0.435) and ferritin (r=0.585). This study showed that: 1) the hepatic iron content of responders is less than that of non-responders, 2) the relationships of hepatic iron with %sat and ferritin in patients with viral hepatitis are weak, and 3) hepatic iron content predicts a response to interferon therapy. (C) Journal of Hepatology.