title: The effect of long-term entecavir therapy on liver histopathology in patients with chronic viral hepatitis B.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate histopathological improvement and virological, biological and serological response rates in patients receiving long-term entecavir therapy who were followed with the diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B (CHB).
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-eight nucleoside(t)e-naive CHB patients who were receiving 0.5 mg/day entecavir (ETV) were included in the study. Virological, serological and biochemical test results were assessed baseline and every 12-week intervals. Liver biopsy specimens were assessed according to the modified Ishak scoring.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-six CHB patients receiving ETV treatment underwent liver biopsy. The mean age of the patients was 44 ± 12.9, 26.1% of them were female. The mean duration of follow-up was 44.9 ± 10.8 months. All patients had hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype D infection. Of 21 patients who were HBeAg positive at baseline, HBeAg loss occurred in 9 and seroconversion occurred in 5. HBsAg loss occurred in none of the patients. Serum HBV DNA levels became undetectable in 93.5% patients. Of the patients, 50% achieved ≥ 2 point improvement in HAI scores and 30.4% achieved ≥ 1 point improvement in fibrosis scores with treatment. The mean improvement in HAI and fibrosis score were 1.94 ± 1.93 and 0.11 ± 0.9 points, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ETV is an effective treatment in histological improvement and virological response in CHB patients. Large-scale, long-term studies are still warranted to evaluate the long-term outcomes of entecavir therapy.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology , Izmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital , Izmir , Turkey.
authors.forename: Sukran
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kose
authors.affiliation: a Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology , Izmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital , Izmir , Turkey.
authors.forename: Bengu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tatar
authors.affiliation: a Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology , Izmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital , Izmir , Turkey.
authors.forename: Selma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gül
authors.affiliation: b Department of Pathology , Izmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital , Izmir , Turkey.
authors.forename: Emel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pala
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006147:Guanine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; C413685:entecavir; D006147:Guanine
keywords: Entecavir; Liver histopathology and chronic viral hepatitis B infection