In persons infected with HIV, the combination of peginterferon and ribavirin is superior to the combination of interferon and ribavirin in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. These regimens may provide clinical benefit even in the absence of virologic clearance. The marked discrepancy in the rates of sustained virologic response between HCV genotypes indicates that strategies are needed to improve the outcome in persons infected with HCV genotype 1.

All-trans-retinoic acid as induction or maintenance treatment improves disease-free and overall survival as compared with chemotherapy alone and should be included in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Background Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is indicated during tuberculosis (TB) treatment of patients infected with HIV-1, but the urgency to start ART at TB diagnosis for patients of varying levels of immune compromise is not known. Methods We conducted an open label, randomized study comparing immediate (within 2 weeks of TB treatment initiation) to early (8–12 weeks) ART among HIV-1 infected patients with CD4+ lymphocytes < 250/mm3 and suspected TB. The primary study endpoint was proportion of patients who survived without an AIDS-defining illness at 48 weeks. Results 809 patients with median baseline CD4+ lymphocytes of 77 cells/mm3 and HIV-1 RNA of 5.43 log10 copies/mL were enrolled. In the immediate arm, 12.9% of patients experienced an AIDS-defining illness or death by 48 weeks compared to 16.1% in the early arm (p=0.45; 95% confidence interval (CI) for difference: −1.8%, 8.1%). In patients with screening CD4+ lymphocytes <50 cells/mm3, 15.5% of patients on the immediate arm vs. 26.6% on early ART experienced an AIDS defining illness or death (p=0.02; difference CI: 1.5%, 20.5%). TB immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) was more common with immediate ART (11% vs. 5%: p=0.002). Viral suppression at 48 weeks was 74% and did not differ between arms (p=0.38). Conclusion Overall, immediate ART did not reduce AIDS-defining illnesses and death compared to early ART. For persons with CD4+ lymphocytes < 50 cells/mm3, immediate ART had 42% less AIDS defining illnesses and death compared to early ART. (ClinicalTrial.gov number NCT00108862.)

BackgroundOptimal timing of ART initiation for individuals presenting with AIDS-related OIs has not been defined.Methods and FindingsA5164 was a randomized strategy trial of “early ART” - given within 14 days of starting acute OI treatment versus “deferred ART” - given after acute OI treatment is completed. Randomization was stratified by presenting OI and entry CD4 count. The primary week 48 endpoint was 3-level ordered categorical variable: 1. Death/AIDS progression; 2. No progression with incomplete viral suppression (ie HIV viral load (VL) ≥50 copies/ml); 3. No progression with optimal viral suppression (ie HIV VL <50 copies/ml). Secondary endpoints included: AIDS progression/death; plasma HIV RNA and CD4 responses and safety parameters including IRIS.282 subjects were evaluable; 141 per arm. Entry OIs included Pneumocytis jirovecii pneumonia 63%, cryptococcal meningitis 12%, and bacterial infections 12%. The early and deferred arms started ART a median of 12 and 45 days after start of OI treatment, respectively.The difference in the primary endpoint did not reach statistical significance: AIDS progression/death was seen in 20 (14%) vs. 34 (24%); whereas no progression but with incomplete viral suppression was seen in 54 (38%) vs. 44 (31%); and no progression with optimal viral suppression in 67 (48%) vs 63 (45%) in the early vs. deferred arm, respectively (p = 0.22). However, the early ART arm had fewer AIDS progression/deaths (OR = 0.51; 95% CI = 0.27–0.94) and a longer time to AIDS progression/death (stratified HR = 0.53; 95% CI = 0.30–0.92). The early ART had shorter time to achieving a CD4 count above 50 cells/mL (p<0.001) and no increase in adverse events.ConclusionsEarly ART resulted in less AIDS progression/death with no increase in adverse events or loss of virologic response compared to deferred ART. These results support the early initiation of ART in patients presenting with acute AIDS-related OIs, absent major contraindications.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT00055120

We previously reported a benefit for alltrans retinoic acid (ATRA) in both induction and maintenance therapy in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). To determine the durability of this benefit and identify important prognostic factors, long-term follow-up of the North American Intergroup APL trial is reported. A total of 350 patients with newly diagnosed APL were randomized to either daunorubicin and cytarabine (DA) or ATRA for induction and then either ATRA maintenance or observation following consolidation chemotherapy. The complete remission (CR) rates were not significantly different between the ATRA and DA groups (70% and 73%, respectively). However, the 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were longer with ATRA than with DA for induction (69% vs 29% and 69% vs 45%, respectively). Based on both induction and maintenance randomizations, the 5-year DFS was 16% for patients randomized to DA and observation, 47% for DA and ATRA, 55% for ATRA and observation, and 74% for ATRA and ATRA. There was no advantage of either induction regimen among any subgroups when CR alone was con-