title: Management and prevention of drug resistance in chronic hepatitis B.
abstract: The management of hepatitis B virus resistance to antivirals has evolved rapidly in recent years. The definition of resistance is now well established, with the importance of partial response and the improvement of assays to detect genotypic resistance and virological breakthrough. Data on phenotypic resistance have allowed to define the cross-resistance profile for the main resistant mutants, providing a rationale for treatment adaptation. Clinical studies have shown that an early treatment intervention in case of a virological breakthrough or a partial response with the addition of a second drug having a complementary cross-resistance profile allows one to maintain the majority of patients in clinical remission. The prevention of resistance should rely on the use of the most potent antivirals with a high genetic barrier to resistance as a first-line therapy. The future perspectives are to design strategies to hasten the HBsAg clearance, which should become a new treatment endpoint, to prevent drug resistance and to decrease the incidence of complications of chronic hepatitis B.
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U871, Lyon, France. fabien.zoulim@inserm.fr
authors.forename: Fabien
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zoulim
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Durantel
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Deny
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D024921:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005838:Genotype; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents