New Treatment Combo Better Against Hepatitis C

"If you have an all-oral, highly efficacious regimen with relatively few side effects, then these people who haven't been diagnosed but know they have risk factors are going to come forward, because when they are diagnosed, there is going to be treatment that has a high percentage of cure," Schiff said.

Around the world, 180 million people have HCV. HCV is the leading cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer, and the most common reason for liver transplantation in the United States. HCV is spread mostly by sharing needles.

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For more on hepatitis C, visit the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.