Interferon and ribavirin treatment results of patients with HBV-HCV co-infection cured of childhood malignancies.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the virological and clinical characteristics and the results of combination therapy in six oncology patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection.

Method: Six patients (five male and one female; age range 8-14 years), diagnosed with HBV-HCV infections during follow-up at the oncology outpatient clinic during 2000-2001 were included in the study. They had received an average of 25.8 units of blood by transfusion per patient during their treatment for malignancies. Positive serological HBV indicators were determined 20-40 months after the end of chemotherapy. HCV RNA positivity was determined together with HBV at an average of 3.3 months after hepatitis B infection. Patients received interferon-alpha-2b and ribavirin for 12 months.

Results: Both HBV DNA and HCV RNA became negative, and anti-HBe became positive in one patient. One patient had decreased HBV DNA levels and negative HCV RNA and HBeAg, but HBeAg became positive again at 18-months following treatment. Another patient had decreased serum HBV DNA and HCV RNA levels with normal ALT levels at the end of treatment; however, two months after therapy was ceased these values returned to pretreatment levels.

Conclusion: We observed that combined treatment is effective in HBV-HCV infection. The effectiveness of combined treatment should be researched with larger groups of co-infected patients.