Correlation of serum hepatitis B surface antigen level with response to entecavir in naive patients with chronic hepatitis B

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J Med Virol. 2011 Jul;83(7):1178-86. doi: 10.1002/jmv.22089.

Correlation of serum hepatitis B surface antigen level with response to

entecavir in naïve patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Lee MH, Lee da M, Kim SS, Cheong JY, Cho SW.

Source

Department of Gastroenterology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, South

Korea.

Abstract

Recent studies have suggested that quantifying the serum HBsAg levels can

predict the response to pegylated interferon. We aimed to determine the change

in serum HBsAg levels during entecavir (ETV) treatment and the correlation with

treatment response in chronic HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative hepatitis B

patients. Serial HBsAg levels were measured using the Architect assay (Abbott

Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL) in sera from 101 treatment-naive chronic

hepatitis B (CHB) patients receiving ETV. During treatment, in HBeAg-positive

patients, the mean HBsAg level was 3.51, 3.22, 3.34, 3.36, and 3.40 log(10)

 IU/ml at baseline, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months, respectively, and there was no

significant change compared with the baseline level, except the decline at 3

months (P = 0.009). In HBeAg-negative patients, the mean level of serum

HBsAg showed increase with 3.06, 3.09, 3.20, 3.26, and 3.27 log(10)  IU/ml at

baseline, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months of treatment, respectively. In HBeAg-positive

patients, HBV-DNA negativity (<2,000 copies/ml; P = 0.010) and HBsAg level

<3,000 IU/ml (P = 0.026) at 3 months were independent predictors of HBeAg

loss/seroconversion at 12 months. After 24 months of treatment, the HBsAg levels

at baseline (P = 0.046) was an independent factor of HBeAg

loss/seroconversion. In HBeAg-negative patients, undetectable HBV DNA at 6

months was an independent factor predicting undetectable HBV DNA after 12 months

of therapy. The level of serum HBsAg before and during therapy was a good

predictor of HBeAg loss/seroconversion in naïve HBeAg-positive CHB patients

receiving entecavir.

J. Med. Virol. 83:1178-1186, 2011.

© 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

PMID: 21567421 [PubMed - in process]