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Screening Toward a 'Cure'
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As rates of resolved hepatitis C virus continue to rise with the addition of newer, stronger medications, our experts debate the overall screening strategies put forth by governing bodies and medical associations.
In this month’s cover story, researchers and public officials explain their points of view in this daily endeavor now being taken on by general gastroenterologists and primary care physicians. They discuss who should be screened, how much money and effort should be put into screening and what the end goal is. With that end goal in mind and the newest treatments under study, Kenneth W. Lin, MD, MPH, and colleagues went so far as to question sustained virologic response as a true cure.
We invite you to see our sister publication, HCV Next, for commentary from our co-Chief Medical Editor, Michael S. Saag, MD, in which he challenges this viewpoint. You can see all of our HCV-related content at Healio.com/HCV.
“Eventually, we will have the long-term data. … Right now, though, the SVR rates are dramatically better than any we achieved with interferon-based therapies. And the patients in need of a cure cannot afford the opportunity costs associated with waiting for long-term ‘proof’ of what is obvious,” Saag writes.
Please visit us online at Healio.com/GI to offer your own viewpoints on this controversial topic and follow us on Twitter @HealioGastro as we incorporate the latest coverage at Digestive Disease Week this month. By interacting with our Twitter coverage, you will have the chance to win a full set of SLACK Incorporated’s gastroenterology books.
Your interactions with our content online will continue to shape our print content. As long as our readers keep talking, we’ll keep listening with every headline we write.
The Editors
Healio Gastroenterology
gastroenterology@slackinc.com