[Improved survival and less hepatocellar carcinoma following the successful treatment of chornic hepatitis B].
Successful therapy of hepatitis B e antigen(HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis-B patients with interferon alpha leads to HBeAg-seroconversion. The long-term results show that HBeAg-seroconversion is more than a laboratory parameter. In the long run, therapy-induced HBeAg-seroconversion leads to improved survival and a reduced risk for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. It is striking that cirrhosis was seen twice as often among the responders to interferon therapy as among the non-responders; this could well be an expression of the degree of inflammation in the liver, which is also higher in responders.
Jansen
P L M
PL
Academisch Medisch Centrum/Universiteit van Amsterdam, afd. Maag-, Darm- en Leverziekten, Levercentrum, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam. p.l.jansen@amc.uva.nl
D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha