What to Expect During Treatment with INTRON® A

Chronic Hepatitis B:
The treatment for chronic hepatitis B usually involves taking injections of INTRON A for Injection for 4 months. About half of all patients with chronic hepatitis B who are treated with interferon will have some benefit from the treatment - there will be less virus in their blood, their liver damage may slow down, and their symptoms will improve. In clinical studies, 45% of patients who are treated for chronic hepatitis B with INTRON® A have no evidence of the hepatitis virus in their blood over time.

While you are being treated, your doctor may regularly check your alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels to see if your liver is still inflamed. He or she may also use the anti-HBeAg or the HBV-DNA test to see if there is still virus in your blood, and how much there is. It can take a while for all evidence of the virus to clear from your blood. As a result, your HBsAg test may still be positive for weeks to years after you have been treated. Many patients get rid of the virus for good, but on rare occasions patients may have a relapse—a return of the infection—because the drug will not have completely cleared the virus from the body.

Even if the virus is controlled, it can take time for your liver to recover from the infection. Despite the absence of virus, the liver needs time to grow healthy new cells to replace those that were damaged or destroyed by the infection.

Chronic Hepatitis C:
The antibodies your body produces to defend against hepatitis B work much better than those directed at hepatitis C. (An antibody is a type of immune protein molecule that is produced when a virus enters the body.)

As a result, your body more often needs help beating chronic hepatitis C. INTRON® A (Interferon alfa-2b, recombinant) for Injection is usually given 3 times a week, and treatment often lasts much longer for hepatitis C than for chronic hepatitis B. If taken alone and not as part of REBETRON Combination Therapy containing REBETOL® (Ribavirin, USP) Capsules and INTRON® A (Interferon alfa-2b, recombinant) Injection, INTRON® A may take anywhere from 18 to 24 months for your treatment to be completed.

During treatment, your doctor will carefully follow your alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and HCV-RNA levels and do other tests to see if your liver is getting better with treatment.

Studies have suggested that longer treatment with INTRON® A leads to better results. These benefits may include periods of remission and a lower risk of developing cirrhosis and/or liver cancer. Therefore, it is very important that you follow your treatment plan through completion as the doctor recommended. Follow-up with your doctor is very important. Even if you have no sign of the virus in your body at the end of treatment, the chances are greater than 70% that you may suffer a relapse. If this happens, your doctor may consider REBETRON Combination Therapy.

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The Importance of Treatment
REBETRON Combination Therapy
INTRON® A Therapy
  What to Expect During Treatment with INTRON® A
Side Effects of INTRON® A
Benefits of INTRON® A
How INTRON® A Is Taken