One hundred and ninety-two weeks treatment of entecavir maleate for Chinese chronic hepatitis B predominantly genotyped B or C

BACKGROUND Entecavir(ETV)is a potent and selective nucleotide analog with significant activity against hepatitis B virus(HBV).ETV maleate is a derivative compound of ETV and was reported to have an efficacy and safety profile that is comparable to ETV(Baraclude)when used in Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis B(CHB)in phase III clinical trials(Clinical Trials.gov number,NCT-01926288)at weeks 48,96,and 144.AIM To investigate the antiviral potency and safety of ETV maleate at week 192 in Chinese CHB patients predominantly genotyped B or C.METHODS In this double-blind study,we randomly assigned patients to receive 0.5 mg/d ETV(Group A)or ETV maleate(Group B)(ratio,1:1),each with a placebo tablet for 48 wk.Then,all patients received open-label treatment with 0.5 mg/d ETV maleate starting at week 49.The primary efficacy endpoint was the reduction in HBV DNA levels from baseline.Secondary endpoints included the proportion of patients with undetectable HBV DNA(<20 IU/m L),serologic response,serum alanine aminotransferase(ALT)normalization and development of resistance mutations.RESULTS Two hundred eighteen patients who were hepatitis B e antigen(HBe Ag)positive and 57 who were HBe Ag negative were analyzed and predominantly presented with genotype B(49.82%)or C(48.73%).For the HBe Ag-positive CHB patients,the mean HBV DNA level decrease(6.61 Log10 IU/m L vs 6.69 Log10 IU/m L,P>0.05),viral suppression with HBV DNA<20 IU/m L(83.33%vs 79.17%,P>0.05)and HBe Ag seroconversion(28.77%vs 20.00%,P>0.05)occurred similarly between Groups A and B at week 192.However,there was a significant difference in the proportion of patients with normal ALT levels(91.14%vs 78.38%,P<0.05).For the HBe Ag-negative CHB patients,no significant difference was found between Groups A and B at week 192 in terms of reductions in HBV DNA levels from baseline(6.05 Log10 IU/m L vs 6.03 Log10 IU/m L,P>0.05),percentages of patients who achieved undetectable HBV DNA(100%vs 100%,P>0.05)and rates of ALT normalization(95.65%vs 100.00%,P>0.05).Safety and adverse event profiles were similar between Groups A and B.Two HBe Ag-positive patients in Group A and 5 in Group B developed genotypic resistance to ETV.CONCLUSION Long-term ETV maleate treatment for up to 192 wk is effective and safe in Chinese CHB patients predominantly genotyped as B or C.

Prediction of the Response to Pegylated Interferon α-2a in Patients with HBeAg Positive Chronic Hepatitis B through Decline of Serum HBV DNA and Hepatitis B Virus Surface Antigen at Week 4

Objective To assess on-treatment serum HBsAg and HBV DNA kinetics in HBeAg-positive CHB patients to predict the efficacy of pegylated interferon(PEG-IFN) in early phase of treatment. Methods Forty-one treatment-naive HBeAg-positive patients treated with PEG-IFNα 2a at a dose of 180 μg/week for at least 24 weeks were evaluated. Their treatment response was assessed, including normalization of serum ALT, decline of serum HBV DNA and loss of HBeAg. Results We found that a decrease of HBV DNA level at the 4th week was positively correlated with the decrease of HBV DNA level at the 12th week and 24th week(r = 0.8202, P < 0.0001 and r = 0.6838, P < 0.0001, respectively). We observed that a decrease of HBsAg level at the 4th week was positively correlated with decrease of HBsAg level at the 12th week and 24th week(r = 0.4868, P = 0.0023 and r = 0.4251, P = 0.0109, respectively). A decrease of HBsAg level at the 24th week was positively correlated with the decrease of HBV DNA level at the 24th week(r = 0.5262, P = 0.0024). Serum level of IFN and IFN neutralizing antibody had no relationship with HBV DNA or HBsAg titers kinetics. Conclusions The decline of serum HBV DNA and hepatitis B surface antigen at the 4th week can be used to predict the response to PEG-IFNα 2a in patients with HBeAg positive chronic hepatitis B.