Comparison of interferon and lamivudine treatment in Japanese patients with HBeAg positive chronic hepatitis B

✍ Scribed by Yasuji Arase; Kenji Ikeda; Fumitaka Suzuki; Yoshiyuki Suzuki; Masahiro Kobayashi; Norio Akuta; Tetsuya Hosaka; Hitomi Sezaki; Hiromi Yatsuji; Yusuke Kawamura; Mariko Kobayashi; Hiromitsu Kumada

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 117 KB
• Volume: 79
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0146-6615
• DOI: 10.1002/jmv.20928

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The aim of this study was to elucidate the long‐term outcome after interferon (IFN) or lamivudine (LMV) treatment in Japanese patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive chronic hepatitis B. Inclusion criteria were biopsy proven chronic hepatitis or liver cirrhosis, no history of IFN or LMV treatment. Three hundred twenty‐seven patients satisfied above criteria were treated with IFN or LMV. The primary end point of our study was serum clearance of HBeAg and decrease of serum HBV‐DNA to ≤5 LEG/ml after the initiation of treatment. This study was a retrospective cohort study. Attainment of serum clearance of HBeAg and decrease of serum HBV‐DNA to ≤5 LEG/ml was regarded as response. Two hundred eighty‐six patients had got response after the initiation of treatment. The cumulative rate of response was 28.0% in the first year, 56.2% at the 5th year and 82.5% at the 10th year. Response occurred when HBV‐DNA load was high level of more than 7 LEG/ml, and serum ALT level was more than 100 IU/L, HBV genotype was B. IFN and LMV were the similar effect on response (P = 0.410). On IFN therapy, cumulative rate of response in patients of <35 years was higher than that in patients ≥35 years (P = 0.002). Our results suggest that (1) IFN and LMV are the similar effect on response, (2) IFN therapy is more effective for younger patients. J. Med. Virol. 79:1286–1292, 2007. © Wiley‐Liss, Inc.