Long-term follow-up of patients with anti-HBe/HBV DNA-positive chronic hepatitis B treated for 12 months with lamivudine
Section snippets
Patients
Fifteen consecutive chronic HBsAg carriers (11 male and 4 female, mean age=42.4 years, range 25–63 years) with a median duration of HBV infection of 6 years (range 4–15 years) and anti-HBe-positive chronic hepatitis B were included in the study and treated with lamivudine (Glaxo-Wellcome) 100 mg once daily for 52 weeks. All patients were followed for at least 12 months (range 12–30 months) after lamivudine discontinuation. Nine patients had previously been treated with IFN: four showed a
Results
In 15 patients with anti-HBe-positive chronic hepatitis B treated with 100 mg of lamivudine daily for 52 weeks, three types of response were observed.
Discussion
As with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients, the results obtained in this study confirm the strong antiviral activity of lamivudine also in patients with the anti-HBe-positive form. In fact, oral administration of lamivudine at 100 mg daily induced a rapid and marked reduction of HBV DNA levels, which became undetectable after 8 weeks of therapy in all 15 patients including the five patients with no response to a previous IFN treatment. Following the inhibition of viral replication, a
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Ms Paulene Butts for her assistance in the preparation of the manuscript.
References (28)
- et al.
Precore mutant hepatitis B virus infection and liver disease
Gastroenterology
(1992) - et al.
Prevalence and type of pre-C HBV mutants in anti-HBe positive carriers with chronic liver disease in a highly endemic area
Virology
(1991) - et al.
Interferon alfa-2b treatment of HBeAg negative/serum HBV-DNA positive chronic active hepatitis type B
J Hepatol
(1990) - et al.
Anti-HBe positive chronic hepatitis B with HBV-DNA in the serum: response to a six month course of lymphoblastoid interferon
J Hepatol
(1992) - et al.
Lamivudine is effective in suppressing hepatitis B virus DNA in Chinese hepatitis B surface antigen carriers: a placebo-controlled trial
Hepatology
(1997) - et al.
Lamivudine treatment for acute hepatitis B after liver transplantation
J Hepatol
(1998) - et al.
Lamivudine therapy for chronic hepatitis B: a six month randomized dose-ranging study
Gastroenterology
(1997) - et al.
Dynamics of hepatitis B virus infection in vivo
J Hepatol
(1997) - et al.
Selection of mutations in the hepatitis B virus polymerase during therapy of transplant recipients with lamivudine
Hepatology
(1996) - et al.
Lamivudine resistance in immunocompetent chronic hepatitis B
J Hepatol
(1997)
Drug therapy for chronic hepatitis B: antiviral efficacy and influence of hepatitis B virus polymerase mutations on the outcome of therapy
J Hepatol
Clinical impact of lamivudine resisatance in chronic hepatitis B
J Hepatol
Hepatitis B e antigen negative chronic hepatitis B: from clinical recognition to pathogenesis and treatment
Viral Hep Rev
Wild-type and e antigen-deficient hepatitis B viruses and course of chronic hepatitis B
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA
Cited by (260)
Treatment of Hepatitis B
2017, Zakim and Boyer's Hepatology: A Textbook of Liver DiseaseIs it possible to stop treatment with nucleos(t)ide analogs in patients with e-antigen negative chronic hepatitis B? Experience and new expectations
2015, Gastroenterologia y HepatologiaChronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Pregnancy
2012, Journal of Clinical and Experimental HepatologyCitation Excerpt :In early antiviral studies in nonpregnant, therapy was stopped after completion of the trial, even for patients who remained HBeAg-positive. In general, if mild fibrosis is there, HBV DNA levels rebound, but clinically significant flares of hepatitis have been rare; but in cases of advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis, flares upon treatment withdrawal can result in decompensation.137–139 Overall, it appears the risk of an adverse outcome with continuing antiviral therapy during pregnancy is likely very low.