PLoS ONE (Jan 2022)

Effect of switching from nucleos(t)ide maintenance therapy to PegIFN alfa-2a in patients with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B: A randomized trial.

  • Hyun Young Woo,
  • Jeong Heo,
  • Won Young Tak,
  • Heon Ju Lee,
  • Woo Jin Chung,
  • Jung Gil Park,
  • Soo Young Park,
  • Young Joo Park,
  • Yu Rim Lee,
  • Jae Seok Hwang,
  • Young Oh Kweon

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270716
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 7
p. e0270716

Abstract

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AimsInduction of a durable viral response is difficult to achieve in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), even from long-term use of a nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA). This study investigated whether switching to peginterferon (PegIFN) alfa-2a after long-term NA therapy induced a durable viral response.MethodsPatients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive CHB who received any NA for at least 72 weeks and had a low level of HBV DNA (≤100 IU/mL) were randomized (1:1) to receive PegIFN alfa-2a (180 μg/week) or NA for 48 weeks. The primary endpoint was change in the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) titer during antiviral therapy.ResultsWe randomized 149 CHB patients to the two groups. Compared to baseline, the HBsAg levels in both groups were not lower at week 12, but were lower after 24, 36, and 48 weeks (all pConclusionsCHB patients who switched to PegIFN alfa-2a for 48 weeks had a significantly lower HBsAg titer and increased HBeAg seroconversion relative to those who remained on NA therapy.Trial registration(ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT01769833).