Hepatitis B virus RNA decline without concomitant viral antigen decrease is associated with a low probability of sustained response and hepatitis B surface antigen loss.
Sylvia M BrakenhoffRobert A de ManAndré BoonstraMargo J H van CampenhoutRobert J de KnegtFlorian van BoemmelAnnemiek A van der EijkThomas BergBettina E HansenHarry L A JanssenMilan J SonneveldPublished in: Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics (2020)
In this cohort, many patients with HBV RNA response during peginterferon-based treatment did not experience HBsAg and/or HBcrAg decline. The absence of concomitant decline in these viral antigens was associated with low rates of treatment response and HBsAg loss. Future trials should therefore consider kinetics of combined biomarkers to assess anti-viral efficacy. Trial registration, ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00114361, NCT00146705.