Trial reportHepatology international2026
Efficacy and safety of entecavir, peginterferon alfa-2b and GM-CSF combination therapy: the anchor randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Hepatology international, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02327416 (A Prospective Randomized Clinical Trial of Combination Sequential Treatment With Y Peginterferon Alfa-2b and ETV), which is not on this map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Prospective Randomized Clinical Trial of Combination Sequential Treatment With Y Peginterferon Alfa-2b and ETV (Entecavir) in CHB (Chronic Hepatitis B) Patients NAs (Nucleotides or Nucleosides) Experienced (Anchor Study)
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Letter regarding the ANCHOR trial: methodological perspectives on GM-CSF efficacy and HBsAg prediction.Hepatology international · 2026Article
- Next-step paradigms for Hepatitis B functional cure: insights from the anchor combination therapy trial.Hepatology international · 2026Article
- Letter to the editor: "Critical appraisal of the anchor RCT on entecavir, peginterferon Alfa-2b, and GM-CSF combination therapy".Hepatology international · 2026Article
- Correspondence to letter to the editor on "Update on the treatment navigation for functional cure of chronic hepatitis B: Expert consensus 2.0".Clinical and molecular hepatology · 2026Article
- HAIC plus lenvatinib and PD-1 inhibitors for hepatocellular carcinoma with Vp4 portal vein tumor thrombus.Hepatology international · 2026Article
- Comment on "Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy combined with lenvatinib and programmed death receptor-1 inhibitors for hepatocellular carcinoma with Vp4 portal vein tumor thrombus: a multicenter, propensity-score matching comparative study".Hepatology international · 2026Article
- Tirzepatide and metabolic surgery: complementary approaches for multimodal management of MASLD.Hepatology international · 2026Article
- Methodological and safety considerations for combination immunotherapy and NA cessation in CHB.Hepatology international · 2026Article
- Hidden structure, visible effects: uneven genotype missingness and its implications for interpreting Peg-IFN efficacy in CHB trials.Hepatology international · 2026Article
- [Progress in clinical research related to viral hepatitis in 2025].Zhonghua gan zang bing za zhi = Zhonghua ganzangbing zazhi = Chinese journal of hepatology · 2026Article
- Yushida: an IoT-based smart injection system for long-term management of chronic diseases.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Review
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Authors and funding
23 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimFunctional cure is considered the advanced treatment goal for patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). We aimed to evaluate hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) loss rates after combination treatment of entecavir (ETV) and peginterferon alfa-2b (Peg-IFN) with or without granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF).
methodsIn this randomized controlled trial, virally suppressed patients undergoing nucleos(t)ide analogs with HBsAg < 3000 IU/mL were randomized 1:1:1 to receive either ETV for 96 weeks (E group), or 48 weeks of Peg-IFN + ETV, followed by 48-week Peg-IFN alone (EP group), or 48 weeks of Peg-IFN + ETV + GM-CSF, followed by 48-week Peg-IFN alone (EPG group). The primary outcome is HBsAg loss at week 96.
resultsAmong 249 patients (81 in E group, 83 in EP group and 85 in EPG group), EP group (30.12%, 25.30%) and EPG group (22.35%, 20.00%) achieved significantly higher HBsAg loss and HBsAg seroconversion rates than E group (0.00%, 0.00%; p < .0001, p < .0001) at week 96. At week 120, HBsAg loss was maintained in 22 of 25 patients (88.00%) in EP group and 15 of 19 (78.95%) in EPG group. During the 24-week off-treatment follow-up, late HBsAg loss occurred in one EP and three EPG patients. Multivariate analysis showed that age, baseline HBsAg level, and 24-week HBsAg decline correlated with HBsAg loss and HBsAg seroconversion at week 96. 24-week HBV RNA decline correlated with HBsAg loss. The HBsAg dynamics during therapy could predict HBsAg loss with an area under the curve of 0.944. More patients in EP group and EPG group experienced adverse events than E group.
conclusionIn virally suppressed patients with HBsAg level < 3000 IU/mL, ETV plus Peg-IFN significantly increased HBsAg loss and HBsAg seroconversion, whereas adding GM-CSF conferred no additional efficacy benefit. Age, early on-treatment HBsAg level and 24-week HBV RNA decline correlated with HBsAg loss. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02327416.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.