Viral determinants of hepatitis B surface antigen seroclearance in hepatitis B e antigen-negative chronic hepatitis B patients

Abstract

Background. We studied whether quantification of serum HBsAg and HBV DNA levels could predict spontaneous HBsAg clearance in patients with negative hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg). Methods. Serum HBsAg and HBV DNA levels were measured at baseline among a longitudinal cohort of 103 HBeAg-negative patients recruited since 1997. Results. Twelve (12%) patients developed HBsAg seroclearance after 88 6 26 months (range, 21-139) of follow-up. At baseline, the serum HBsAg level among patients who cleared HBsAg (1.30 ± 1.27 log IU/mL) was significantly lower than those who did not clear HBsAg (2.96 ± 0.84 log IU/mL; P < .001). The area under receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve for serum HBsAg to predict HBsAg seroclearance was 0.90 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83-0.97; P