title: [Predictors and scoring system for sustained complete response to conventional interferon-alpha therapy on chronic hepatitis B].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish a predictive scoring system which may serve for the prediction of sustained response to conventional interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) treatment on chronic hepatitis B.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 474 IFN-alpha treated hepatitis B virus e antigen (HBeAg)-positive patients were enrolled in the present study. The patients' baseline characteristics, such as age, gender, aminotransferases, activity grading (G) of intrahepatic inflammation, score (S) of liver fibrosis, hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA and genotype were evaluated; therapy duration and response of each patient at the 24th wk after cessation of IFN-alpha treatment were also recorded. A predictive scoring system for a sustained complete response (CR) to IFN-alpha therapy was established based on genetic algorithm. About 10% of the patients were randomly drawn out as the test set. Responses to IFN-alpha therapy were divided into CR, partial response (PR) and non-response (NR). The mixed set of PR and NR was recorded as PR + NR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For the scoring system, the sensitivity and specificity were 78.8% and 80.6%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This SCR scoring system has satisfying prediction efficiency and is easily employed in clinical practice. With this scoring system, practitioners can propose individualized decisions that have an integrated foundation on both evidence-based medicine and personal characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
authors.forename: Mei-zhu
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Kuang-nan
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Qian-guo
authors.initials: QG
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Wen-qi
authors.initials: WQ
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Min-ning
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Ru-mian
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jin-shui
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha