Table 1.

Interferon administration schedule (interferon dosage in MU)

Group	d 0	d 1	d 2	d 3	d 4	d 5	d 6	d 7	d 8	d 9	d 10	d 11	d 12	d 13	d 14	d 15	d 16
3 TIW	9	-	3	-	3	-	-	3	-	3	-	3	-	-	3	-	3	3 TIW until wk 48
3 Q2D	9	-	3	-	3	-	3	-	3	-	3	-	3	-	3	-	3	3 Q2D until wk 48
3 QD	9	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	-	3
9 QD	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	-	3

All patients received a first dose of 9 Mega units (MU) of IFN-α. Group “3 TIW” received 3 MU doses of IFN-α three times a week until wk 48; group “3 Q2D” received 3 MU doses of IFN-α every other day; group “3 QD” received 3 MU daily after the first dose until d 14, followed by 3 MU every other day until wk 48; group “9 QD” received 9 MU daily after the first dose until d 14, followed by 3 MU every other day until wk 48. All groups received two doses of 500 mg ribavirin daily for 48 wk. -:Interferon was not administered that day.