Interferon‐ α therapy in HBeAg‐negative chronic hepatitis B: a long‐term prospective study from north‐western Greece

Summary Aims To determine the long‐term response to interferon‐ α therapy in patients with hepatitis B e antigen‐negative chronic hepatitis B, and the factors independently associated with response and survival. Methods Sixty‐three patients with documented hepatitis B e antigen‐negative chronic hepatitis B treated with interferon‐ α for a year were followed‐up for a period of 6 years. Results Sustained biochemical and virological response was seen in 34.91% and 33.33% of patients at 6 and 12 months of follow‐up, respectively, and histological improvement in 54.5% of sustained responders compared with non‐responders (7.1%, P  = 0.004, chi‐squared test), at 6 months of follow‐up. Multivariate analysis showed that patients with hepatitis B virus‐DNA levels at 6 months of treatment <10 000 copies/mL had a low probability of relapse, compared with those with levels >10 000 copies/mL ( P  = 0.032). Age (>65 years) and hepatitis B virus‐DNA level at 6 months of treatment (>10 000 copies/mL) were the independent factors for disease progression and survival ( P  = 0.041 and P  = 0.044 respectively). At 6 years, a sustained response was still present in 19.04% of patients and 4.8% of them had developed anti‐HBs. Conclusion Hepatitis B virus‐DNA monitoring by quantitative polymerase chain reaction at 6 months of treatment may allow for early prediction of response to interferon‐ α , and may serve as an indicator of disease progression in the future.