Efficacy of 6-month interferon therapy in chronic hepatitis B virus infection in Japan.
BACKGROUND
In Japan, there are few studies of long-term (more than 1 month) interferon (IFN) therapy for chronic hepatitis B (CHB). In this retrospective study, we investigated the efficacy and predictors of response to 6-month IFN therapy.


METHODS
We analyzed 66 Japanese patients with CHB who were treated with IFN for 6 months. They comprised patients who were hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive (n=45) and -negative (n=21). One (2%), 8 (12%), and 51 (77%) patients were infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes A, B, and C, respectively. Responders in patients positive for HBeAg were defined as those who showed normalization of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level, HBeAg loss, and HBV DNA negativity at 6 months after completion of IFN therapy. In patients negative for HBeAg, responders were defined as those patients who showed normalization of ALT level and HBV DNA negativity at the same 6-month time point.


RESULTS
Of the 45 patients with HBeAg at the commencement of IFN therapy, 9 (20%) were responders. Young patients, especially those with a high serum ALT level, were significantly more likely to respond to IFN therapy. Of the 21 patients negative for HBeAg, 13 (62%) were responders. There were no significant differences in clinical characteristics between responders and nonresponders among patients negative for HBeAg. Multivariate analyses identified HBeAg negativity and young age as independent factors associated with a positive response to 6-month IFN therapy. However, long-term follow-up of the treated patients showed a fall in the response rate.


CONCLUSIONS
The response rate to 6-month IFN therapy among HBeAg-positive patients was low. However, young patients may require long-term IFN therapy.
Suzuki
Fumitaka
F
Department of Gastroenterology, Toranomon Hospital, 2-2-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, 105-8470, Tokyo, Japan.
Arase
Yasuji
Y
Akuta
Norio
N
Tsubota
Akihito
A
Suzuki
Yoshiyuki
Y
Sezaki
Hitomi
H
Hosaka
Tetsuya
T
Someya
Takashi
T
Kobayashi
Masahiro
M
Saitoh
Satoshi
S
Ikeda
Kenji
K
Kobayashi
Mariko
M
Matsuda
Marie
M
Satoh
Junko
J
Kumada
Hiromitsu
H
D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007372:Interferons / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D004279:DNA, Viral; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens; D007372:Interferons; D000410:Alanine Transaminase