On-Treatment Decline in Serum HBsAg Levels Predicts Sustained Immune Control and HBsAg Clearance 6 Months Post-Treatment in HBeAg-Positive Hepatitis B

On-Treatment Decline in Serum HBsAg Levels Predicts Sustained Immune Control and HBsAg Clearance 6 Months Post-Treatment in HBeAg-Positive Hepatitis B Virus-Infected Patients Treated with Peginterferon Alfa-2a [40KD] (PEGASYS) - see attached full poster report



Reported by Jules Levin

Presented at the 20th Conference of the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL), 25–28 March 2010, Beijing, China



Piratvisuth T,1 Lau GKK,2 Marcellin P,3 Brunetto MR,4 Kapprell H-P,5 Popescu M6. 1NKC Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Songklanagarind Hospital, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand; 2Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, China; 3Service d’Hepatologie and Centre de Recherches Biologiques Bichat Beaujon (Inserm CRB3), University of Paris, Clichy, France; 4UO Epatologia, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Pisana, Pisa, Cisanello, Italy; 5Abbott GmbH & Co, Wiesbaden-Delkenheim, Germany; 6F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Basel, Switzerland


Summary

On-treatment HBsAg levels <1500 IU/mL were significantly associated with response; over half of all patients with HBsAg <1500 IU/mL at weeks 12 and 24 achieved sustained immune control 6 months post-treatment

Rates of HBsAg clearance were high in patients who had HBsAg <1500 IU/mL at weeks 12 or 24 and sustained immune control (18% and 20%, respectively)



Conclusion

Low levels of HBsAg during a finite course of peginterferon alfa-2a therapy in HBeAg-positive patients are associated with high rates of sustained immune control and HBsAg clearance – the closest outcome to clinical cure of CHB

On-treatment quantification of HBsAg levels during treatment with peginterferon alfa-2a can identify HBeAg-positive patients with a high chance of achieving sustained post-treatment response and HBsAg clearance. This may help guide patient management in the future, allowing physicians to better identify early during therapy the patients who are most likely to achieve long-term response