End-of-treatment virologic response does not predict relapse after lamivudine treatment for chronic hepatitis B
Journal
World Journal of Gastroenterology
Journal Volume
10
Journal Issue
24
Pages
3574-3578
Date Issued
2004
Author(s)
Abstract
Aim: Attaining hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion during lamivudine treatment is associated with fewer relapses in HBeAg-positive patients. In HBeAg-negative patients, predictors for post-treatment relapse remain largely unknown. We therefore studied whether end-of-treatment virologic response correlated with relapse after lamivudine treatment. Methods: We prospectively analyzed 12 HBeAg-negative patients and 14 HBeAg-positive patients with chronic hepatitis B, who received at least 9 mo of lamivudine treatment and were followed up for 12 mo post-treatment. Relapse of hepatitis B activity was defined by an elevation of serum ALT level above twice the upper limit of normal as well as reappearance of serum HBV DNA by the branched DNA assay or HBeAg during the follow-up period. The serum viral loads during and at the end of treatment were further determined by a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay. Results: Relapse occurred in 6 (50.0%) HBeAg-negative patients within 12 mo post-treatment. Two relapsers had end-of-treatment serum viral load <1 000 copies/mL, the proportion was not significantly different from that in the 6 non-relapsers (33.3% vs 16.7%; P = 1.00). Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels did not correlate with post-treatment relapse in HBeAg-positive patients either. However, genotype C patients tended to have a lower relapse rate than genotype B patients (14.3% vs 57.9%, P = 0.08). Conclusion: Our results suggest that end-of-treatment virologic response cannot predict post-treatment relapse in patients with HBeAg-negative or -positive chronic hepatitis B. The impact of HBV genotype on the response to lamivudine treatment awaits further studies. Copyright ? 2004 by The WJG Press.
SDGs
Other Subjects
alanine aminotransferase; aspartic acid; DNA polymerase; glutamic acid; hepatitis B surface antibody; hepatitis B surface antigen; hepatitis B(e) antigen; lamivudine; methionine; tyrosine; valine; virus DNA; adult; amino acid substitution; antibiotic resistance; article; clinical article; correlation analysis; disease activity; disease association; DNA determination; drug response; female; follow up; genotype; hepatitis B; Hepatitis B virus; human; male; prediction; prospective study; quantitative analysis; real time polymerase chain reaction; relapse; seroconversion; treatment outcome; virology; virus load
Publisher
Baishideng Publishing Group Co
Type
journal article