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Primary prophylaxis with lamivudine of hepatitis B virus reactivation in chronic HbsAg carriers with lymphoid malignancies treated with chemotherapy
Author(s) -
Rossi Giuseppe,
Pelizzari Annamaria,
Motta Maddalena,
Puoti Massimo
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
british journal of haematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.907
H-Index - 186
eISSN - 1365-2141
pISSN - 0007-1048
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2141.2001.03099.x
Subject(s) - lamivudine , medicine , nucleoside analogue , hbsag , gastroenterology , hepatitis b virus , chemotherapy , immunology , hepatitis b , tolerability , virology , virus , adverse effect , nucleoside , biology , biochemistry
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation of various degrees of severity, including fulminant hepatitis, may develop in 20–50% of hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HbsAg)‐positive patients undergoing immunosuppressive or cytostatic treatment. Lamivudine is a nucleoside analogue that can directly suppress HBV replication. We have performed a pilot study to test the efficacy and tolerability of lamivudine as a primary prophylaxis of HBV reactivation in 20 consecutive patients treated for haematological malignancies , mainly of lymphoid origin. Lamivudine, 100 mg/d, was given orally from the start until 1 month after the end of chemotherapy, which included corticosteroids and/or purine analogues in 85% of cases . It was well tolerated and did not cause any unexpected reduction of cytostatic drugs dosages. The chemotherapy programme was completed in all patients without modifications. A transient threefold increase in serum amylase was observed in one case. HBV‐DNA levels decreased in six out of six patients ( P = 0·039) and ALT levels in five out of six patients ( P = 0·057) whose serum levels were abnormal at the onset of therapy. Two patients developed transient hepatitis. HBV reactivation was documented in only one of these patients who had stopped lamivudine 1 month before. No signs of HBV reactivation were detected both during and after treatment in 18 patients with a median follow‐up of 6 months (range 3–12). Thus, primary prophylaxis with lamivudine may be a well tolerated and effective method to reduce the frequency of chemotherapy‐induced HBV reactivation in chronic HBsAg carriers.