ArticleVirology journal2024
Efficacy of short-term Peg-IFN α-2b treatment in chronic hepatitis B patients with ultra-low HBsAg levels: a retrospective cohort study.
Article in Virology journal, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Short-term pegylated interferon alpha in chronic HBV patients with ultra-low HBsAg: a retrospective study.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Trial
- Article
- Review
- Sustained HBsAg clearance induced by pegylated interferon α-2b in HBeAg-negative patients with low baseline HBsAg.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
- Interferon therapy-induced reduction in PD-1 + CD8 + and CD160 + CD8 + T cells is associated with functional cure in hepatitis B.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Functional cure in an occult hepatitis B virus infection patient on sequential therapy: A case report.World journal of hepatology · 2025Article
- Interferon in Liver Diseases: Recent Advances.Advances in therapy · 2025Review
- Targeting hepatitis B virus-associated nephropathy: efficacy and challenges of current antiviral treatments.Clinical and experimental medicine · 2025Review
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposePeginterferon alfa-2b (Peg-IFN α-2b) has demonstrated superior efficacy over nucleos(t)ide analogs (NAs) in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB), particularly among patients with low levels of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). This study aims to determine whether patients with ultra-low HBsAg levels (< 200 IU/mL) can achieve significantly higher clinical cure rates with abbreviated courses of Peg-IFN α-2b therapy.
methodsIn this retrospective analysis, CHB patients with HBsAg levels below 200 IU/mL were categorized into a Peg-IFN α-2b group and a control group. The Peg-IFN α-2b group received Peg-IFN α-2b for a minimum of 24 weeks, with the possibility of early discontinuation upon achieving HBsAg clearance, and were followed through week 48. The control group remained untreated for hepatitis B virus (HBV), and was observed for 24 weeks. HBsAg clearance rates were compared between groups. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to identify factors associated with HBsAg clearance .
resultsBy week 24, the HBsAg clearance rate in the Peg-IFN α-2b group was notably 52.1% (38/73), contrasting sharply with the mere 1.3% (1/77) observed in the control group. Within the Peg-IFN α-2b group, a substantial 97.3% (71/73) of patients noted a reduction in HBsAg levels. Besides, the decision to continue or discontinue treatment after the 24-week mark had no significant impact on the HBsAg clearance rate at week 48. Multivariable analysis pinpointed baseline HBsAg levels (OR = 0.984, p = 0.001) and the presence of fatty liver (OR = 5.960, p = 0.033) as independent predictors of HBsAg clearance.
conclusionOur findings confirm that a 24-week course of Peg-IFN α-2b yields robust efficacy in CHB patients with ultra-low HBsAg levels. Prolonging treatment beyond the 24-week threshold is deemed unnecessary. Both baseline HBsAg level and the presence of fatty liver emerged as significant predictors for HBsAg clearance.
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