ArticleBMC pediatrics2022
The efficacy of pegylated interferon alpha-2a and entecavir in HBeAg-positive children and adolescents with chronic hepatitis B.
Article in BMC pediatrics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Younger age predicts increased HBsAg loss in children with chronic hepatitis B on antiviral therapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Infectious diseases & immunity · 2026Article
- Altered expression of MX2 and SAMD4A in PBMCs predicts early treatment responses in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients during Peg-IFN-α therapy.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Association of week-12 HBsAg Decline with HBsAg Clearance in Patients with Hepatitis B-Related Cirrhosis Receiving Pegylated Interferon Combined with Nucleos(T)ide Analogue Therapy: A Retrospective Cohort Study.International journal of general medicine · 2026Article
- Interferon therapy for chronic hepatitis B in children: an immunological perspective.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Targeting hepatitis B virus-associated nephropathy: efficacy and challenges of current antiviral treatments.Clinical and experimental medicine · 2025Review
- Serum ferritin as a predictive biomarker for PEG IFNα-2b efficacy in chronic hepatitis B treatment.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Article
- Insights into the Natural and Treatment Courses of Hepatitis B in Children: A Retrospective Study.Biomedicines · 2024Article
- [New progress on the clinical study of antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis B in children].Zhonghua gan zang bing za zhi = Zhonghua ganzangbing zazhi = Chinese journal of hepatology · 2024Review
- [Interferon-related gene array in predicting the efficacy of interferon therapy in chronic hepatitis B].Sheng wu yi xue gong cheng xue za zhi = Journal of biomedical engineering = Shengwu yixue gongchengxue zazhi · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectivesPegylated interferon alpha-2a (peg-IFN α-2a) and entecavir (ETV) are both recommended as the first-line antiviral drugs for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) at present. We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety between peg-IFN α-2a and ETV initial therapy in children and adolescents with CHB and investigate the potential factors affecting the treatment response during the first 48 weeks.
methodsWe retrospectively selected 70 treatment-naïve children and adolescents with CHB who received peg-IFN α-2a(n = 26) or ETV(n = 44) as initial therapy and completed 48-week follow-up for data analysis. Blood samples before treatment were collected from 26 patients of the cohort to assess the cytokine profiles.
resultsWe found that initial peg-IFN therapy results in higher rates of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) serological response (SR) but lower rates of virological and biochemical response rates compared to ETV at week 48. As for achieving hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) SR, peg-IFN was comparable to ETV in the univariate analysis and turned out to be better than ETV after adjustment for important baseline factors. We also found that elevated pre-treatment IL-18 level was significantly associated with HBeAg SR, and remained as the only independent factor of predicting HBeAg SR after adjustment for other important factors. No serious adverse effects of the 2 drugs were reported during the 48-week follow-up.
conclusionscomparing to ETV, peg-IFN was superior in achieving HBsAg and HBeAg SR; higher baseline IL-18 levels were independently associated with HBeAg SR in this study of children and adolescents with CHB.
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