Short-term peginterferon-induced high functional cure rate in inactive chronic hepatitis b virus carriers with low surface antigen levels

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Abstract

Background. None of the current guidelines recommend antiviral therapy for inactive hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers (IHCs). Methods. In this real-world, multicenter, nonrandomized study, 32 participants meeting the inclusion criteria were enrolled 1:1 for treatment with peginterferon α-2b or monitoring without treatment based on participant preference. The expected treatment duration was 48 weeks. The primary end point was hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) loss. The HBV vaccine could be injected after HBsAg loss. Results. All patients had HBsAg levels of <20 IU/mL. The mean baseline HBsAg levels were 6.6 IU/mL and 5.8 IU/mL in the treated and untreated groups, respectively. Fifteen (93.8%) participants achieved HBsAg loss, 5 obtained HBsAg seroconversion after undergoing a mean of 19.7 weeks of therapy in the treated group, and no one in the follow-up group achieved HBsAg loss during a mean follow-up time of 12.6 months (P < .0001). Generally, the therapy was well tolerated. Nine of 11 individuals who exhibited HBsAg loss benefited from receiving the HBV vaccine. Conclusions. This study provides justification for further studies of short-course peginterferon α-2b for the functional cure of IHCs with low HBsAg levels. Additionally, HBV vaccine injection is beneficial after interferon-induced HBsAg loss.

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Zeng, Q. L., Yu, Z. J., Shang, J., Xu, G. H., Sun, C. Y., Liu, N., … Wang, F. S. (2020). Short-term peginterferon-induced high functional cure rate in inactive chronic hepatitis b virus carriers with low surface antigen levels. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 7(6). https://doi.org/10.1093/OFID/OFAA208

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