A 52-year-old male executive who is asymptomatic is evaluated for abnormal liver biochemical tests. The aspartate aminotransferase level is 138 U/L, and the alanine aminotransferase level is 164 U/L; the bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, and albumin levels and the complete blood counts are normal. The international normalized ratio is 1.1, and the serum creatinine level is 0.9 mg/dL. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA level is 1,600,000 IU/mL, and the genotype is 1B. The patient has read about boceprevir and wants to know whether he is a candidate for treatment with this drug. He also wants to know whether he really requires liver biopsy before the initiation of treatment.Will you use boceprevir in this patient? How will you determine whether he is responding to the drug, how long will you give him the medication, and how will you monitor him for side effects? How will you determine that treatment-related anemia is related to boceprevir and is not related to ribavirin? Which side effects of boceprevir will warrant the discontinuation of treatment? Will your approach vary with the genotype for the interleukin-28 (IL-28) polymorphism?