[Factors related to chronic hepatitis B relapse after interferon-alpha treatment: a follow-up study].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the related to relapse of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) after recombinant interferon-alpha (rIFN-alpha) treatment.


METHODS
This investigation involved 523 pathologically confirmed CHB patients including 403 HBeAg-positive and 120 HBeAg-negative patients, who were treated with 5 MU rIFN-alpha subcutaneously thrice a week for 6-25 months. For each patient, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was measured biochemically, serum HBV DNA level detected with quantitative fluorescent PCR, and HBeAg level with enzyme immuoassay every 1-3 months during therapy and every 3-6 months during the follow-up period.


RESULTS
Early response to rIFN-alpha treatment was observed in 302 (57.7%) patients at the end of treatment, among whom 39.4% (119/302) suffered relapse during the follow-up for 39.2-/+21.5 months. Age, HBeAg status before treatment, and follow-up duration were the predictive factors for post-treatment relapse. The mean age of patients with CHB relapse was significantly higher than that of the sustained responders (P<0.001), and the relapse rates in HBeAg-negative group (55.8%, 43/77) were significantly higher than that in HBeAg-positive group (33.8%, 76/225) at the end of follow up (P<0.001). The relapse rate and accumulative relapse rates at each year during the follow-up (for 5 years as the longest) differed significantly (P<0.001, P=0.000), but the accumulative relapse rates differed little between the years after the initial 2 of the follow-up (P=0.670). The relapse was not related to the patient's gender, pretreatment serum ALT, HBV DNA, grade of liver inflammation, stage of liver fibrosis, or duration of treatment. In HBeAg-positive patients, however, the mean HBV DNA was significantly higher in relapse group than in sustained response group (P=0.017).


CONCLUSIONS
Age, pretreatment HBeAg status, and follow-up duration are independent predictive factors for post-treatment CHB relapse. In HBeAg positive patients, pretreatment serum HBV DNA is also one of the risk factors for relapse.
Liu
Ding-Li
DL
Department of Infectious Diseases, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China. dingli@fimmu.com
Luo
Kang-Xian
KX
Feng
Xiao-Rong
XR
Fu
Qun-Xiang
QX
Hou
Jin-Lin
JL
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens / Q000097:blood; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D012008:Recurrence; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D004279:DNA, Viral; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D000410:Alanine Transaminase