Long-term follow-up of lamivudine treatment in patients with severe acute exacerbation of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B

BACKGROUND: The long-term efficacy of lamivudine treatment for patients suffering from severe acute exacerbation of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B is unknown. METHODS: Consecutive patients with severe acute exacerbation of HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B were prospectively recruited from 1999 to 2004 and treated with lamivudine. All patients had alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and serum bilirubin levels 10x and 3x above the upper limit of normal, respectively. HBeAg-positive patients without severe acute exacerbation served as controls. RESULTS: Forty-five patients with severe acute exacerbation and 31 controls were treated with lamivudine for a median of 2.8 (range 1.0-7.1) years and 3.8 (range 3.5-8.4) years, respectively. Compared with controls, patients with severe acute exacerbation had higher HBeAg seroconversion rates (78% versus 52%; P=0.02) and lower risk of virological breakthrough. However, 33% of patients with severe acute exacerbation still developed lamivudine resistance and virological breakthrough by year 5. HBV DNA levels at week 4 and prolonged baseline prothrombin time were independent factors associated with virological breakthrough. All patients with week 4 HBV DNA <3 log10 copies/ml had maintained virological response. Among 15 patients who stopped lamivudine after sustained HBeAg seroconversion for > or =6 months, 11 (73%) had virological relapse at a median of 1.4 (0.2-3.9) years. ALT increased beyond 10x the upper limit of normal in six (38%) patients who stopped lamivudine and two (7%) patients on maintained lamivudine treatment (P=0.02). CONCLUSION: Among patients with severe acute exacerbation of HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B treated with lamivudine, virological breakthrough and post-treatment relapse are common despite a high rate of HBeAg seroconversion. Severe hepatitis flare is also common particularly among patients developing virological relapse after discontinuation of lamivudine.     

In vitro susceptibility of lamivudine-resistant hepatitis B virus to adefovir and tenofovir

Emergence of lamivudine-resistant hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major concern in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and HBV coinfected patients. Following selection of resistant mutants, hepatitis flare or rapid progression to cirrhosis may occur. Treatment of patients with new nucleotide analogues such as adefovir dipivoxil (ADV) or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) has shown good efficacy in controlling wild-type or lamivudine-resistant HBV replication. The purpose of this study was to assess the in vitro efficacy of new nucleotide analogues on HBV strains isolated from lamivudine-treated patients. After purification of HBV DNA from patient sera, the whole HBV genome was PCR-amplified and cloned. Drug sensitivity was measured after transfection of the isolated full genomes into HepG2 cells and measurement of HBeAg, HBsAg and viral replication in the culture media under increasing drug concentrations. A wild-type strain isolated from an untreated patient served as control. In a clinical study of ADV (Gilead 460i study), seven of the 35 patients carried HBV strains with the triple lamivudine resistance-associated amino-acid changes rtV173L/L180M/M204V at baseline. Although all patients responded to ADV in this clinical study, the serum HBV reduction was lower in the seven patients with the triple mutation (median -3.3 log copies/ml) compared to the patients who had only the rtL180M/M204V mutations (median -4.1 log copies/ml) at week 48 (P=0.04, Mann-Whitney test). In our in vitro system, lamivudine IC50 on lamivudine-resistant HBV carrying amino-acid substitutions rtL180M and rtM204V within the polymerase encoding region increased by more than 16,000-fold (from 6 nM to over 100 microM) when compared to wild-type HBV. For ADV and TDF, comparison of wild-type and lamivudine-resistant HBV IC50 (rtL180M-M204V) showed, respectively, 2.85-fold (from 0.07 to 0.2 microM) and 3.3-fold (from 0.06 to 0.2 microM) increases, indicating a mild decrease of both drug activities, in vitro. At the ADV concentration of 0.1 microM, presence of the V173L mutation reduced the inhibition of HBsAg production from 50 to 30% (P<0.01) and the viral replication from 45 to 32% (P<0.01, Mann-Whitney). Conversely, tenofovir had similar potency on both HBV mutation profiles with 60% inhibition of HBsAg production and 45% inhibition of viral replication at 0.1 microM. Our study supports the high efficacy of ADV and TDF seen in patients after lamivudine breakthrough. The excellent activity of TDF on lamivudine-resistant virus independently of the resistance mutation profile offers an interesting treatment alternative to HIV-HBV coinfected patients.     

Impact of YMDD mutations during lamivudine therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B

Lamivudine is a nucleoside analogue with potent inhibitory effects on hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication. Prolonged therapy is required for sustained suppression. However, HBV species with mutations in the tyrosine-methionine-aspartate-aspartate (YMDD) locus of the HBV RNA-dependent DNA polymerase conferring resistance to lamivudine may emerge after 9-10 months therapy with an incidence of 38 and 67% after 2 and 4 years of lamivudine therapy, respectively. During continued lamivudine therapy, patients with YMDD mutant HBV usually show serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and HBV DNA elevations at lower median levels than their baseline. Marked flare of serum ALT or acute exacerbation may occur as the result of CLT-mediated hepatocytolysis directed against YMDD mutants. Although viral clearance with or without emergence of distinct lamivudine-resistant mutants may occur after such exacerbations, 20% of the exacerbations are complicated with decompensation or even fatality. The exacerbations appear to be more severe than those that occur during the natural course of wild-type HBV chronic infection. In addition, some mutations may generate S gene truncation near 'transactivity-on-region'. Thus, the benefit of prolonged lamivudine therapy must be balanced against concern about YMDD mutants. Currently, the most cost-effective strategy is to select patients with stronger endogenous anti-HBV immunity, thereby increasing efficacy and shortening the duration of lamivudine therapy. New drugs and new strategies are needed to better achieve the goals of therapy and minimize the problem of YMDD mutants.     

Randomized trial of entecavir plus adefovir in patients with lamivudine-resistant chronic hepatitis B who show suboptimal response to lamivudine plus adefovir

A substantial proportion of patients with lamivudine-resistant hepatitis B virus (HBV) show suboptimal virologic response during rescue combination treatment with lamivudine plus adefovir. In this randomized active-control trial, 90 patients with serum HBV DNA levels of >2,000 IU/ml after at least 24 weeks of treatment with lamivudine-plus-adefovir therapy for lamivudine-resistant HBV were randomized to combination treatment with entecavir plus adefovir (ETV+ADV, n = 45) or continuation of lamivudine plus adefovir (LAM+ADV, n = 45) for 52 weeks. At baseline, patients' mean serum HBV DNA level was 4.60 log(10) IU/ml (standard deviation [SD], 1.03). All 90 patients completed 52 weeks of treatment. At week 52, the proportion of patients with serum HBV DNA levels of <60 IU/ml, the primary endpoint, was significantly higher in the ETV+ADV group than in the LAM+ADV group (n = 13, 29%, versus n = 2, 4%, respectively; P = 0.004). The mean reduction in serum HBV DNA levels from baseline was significantly greater in the ETV+ADV group than in the LAM+ADV group (-2.2 log(10) IU/ml versus -0.6 log(10) IU/ml, respectively; P < 0.001). At week 52, additional mutations causing resistance to adefovir or entecavir were analyzed in all patients with detectable HBV DNA by restriction fragment mass polymorphism assays and detected in none of the ETV+ADV group but in 15% of patients in the LAM+ADV group (P = 0.018). Safety and adverse event profiles were similar in the two groups. In conclusion, entecavir-plus-adefovir combination therapy provides superior virologic response and favorable resistance profiles, compared with the continuing lamivudine-plus-adefovir combination, in patients with lamivudine-resistant HBV who fail to respond to lamivudine-plus-adefovir combination therapy.     

阿德福韦酯治疗HBeAg阳性慢性乙型肝炎的疗效和安全性研究

目的评价一种国产阿德福韦酯用于治疗HBeAg阳性慢性乙型肝炎患者的疗效和安全性。方法采用多中心、随机、双盲、安慰剂对照的临床试验,选择HBeAg阳性的慢性乙型肝炎患者211例,按1∶1的比例随机分为阿德福韦酯组和拉米夫定组。完成12周治疗后均进入阿德福韦酯开放治疗期。完成12周和48周治疗时,检测血清HBVDNA及ALT水平。结果治疗12周时阿德福韦酯组（107例）血清HBVDNA水平平均下降2.94log10拷贝/ml,77.6%的受试者血清HBVDNA水平下降≥2log10拷贝/ml或血清HBVDNA≤104拷贝/ml,ALT均值下降76.9IU/L;而安慰剂组（104例）血清HBVDNA水平平均下降0.57log10拷贝/ml,血清HBVDNA水平下降≥2log10拷贝/ml或血清HBVDNA≤104拷贝/ml的受试者比例仅为13.5%,ALT均值下降20.9IU/L。两组血清HBVDNA水平下降值和血清ALT下降值比较,差异均有统计学意义（P〈0.05）。治疗48周时,阿德福韦酯组血清HBVDNA水平平均下降3.54log10拷贝/ml,ALT均值下降100.6IU/L;安慰剂组血清HBVDNA水平平均下降3.28log10拷贝/ml,ALT均值下降92.7IU/L;两组血清HBVDNA水平下降值和血清ALT下降值比较,差异无统计学意义（P〉0.05）。阿德福韦酯组不良事件发生率与安慰剂组相比,差异无统计学意义（P〉0.05）。结论阿德福韦酯治疗HBeAg阳性慢性乙型肝炎可在病毒学及生化学方面取得较好疗效,且安全性良好。     

Short-term lamivudine therapy in HBeAg-negative chronic active hepatitis B in Taiwan

Lamivudine treatment in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative and hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients is associated with poor sustained response. A previous study has shown that short-term lamivudine therapy in HBeAg-positive patients with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) > 5x upper limit of normal (ULN) could achieve a high HBeAg response rate and low lamivudine resistance rate. We, therefore, prospectively treated 85 HBeAg-negative CHB patients with ALT > 5x ULN by lamivudine for 6-12 months. The mean pretreatment levels were as follows: ALT (normal < 36 U/I) 533 U/I (range: 180-2,418 U/I); total bilirubin (normal < 1.3 mg/dl) 2.0 mg/dl (range: 0.2-29.6 mg/dl), HBV DNA (normal, undetectable) 1.6 x 10(8) copies/ml (range: 1.4 x 10(5)-1.7 x 10(9) copies/ml). After a mean of 7.4 months (6-12 months) treatment, 69 (81%) patients achieved complete response. In a follow-up, 12 months after stopping lamivudine therapy, 33 (39%) patients showed sustained complete response. Patients with sustained response were younger than the relapsed patients (39.7 +/- 11.9 years versus 47.0 +/- 10.3 years; P = 0.005). The emergence of lamivudine-resistant variant HBV was documented in two patients (2%). It is concluded that in HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B patients with ALT levels above 5x ULN, a 6-12 month course of lamivudine therapy may achieve sustained an off-treatment response in approximately one-third of patients.     

Sequential treatment with lamivudine and interferon-alpha monotherapies in hepatitis B e antigen-negative Chinese patients and its suppression of lamivudine-resistant mutations

OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy of sequential treatment with lamivudine and interferon-alpha monotherapies in Chinese patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative chronic hepatitis B. METHODS: One hundred and sixty-two patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B were included in this study. Ninety-eight were treated with lamivudine alone (100 mg per day) for 48 weeks (group B). Sixty-four were treated with lamivudine alone (100 mg per day) for 20 weeks, then combined with interferon-alpha-2b (5 million units three times per week) for 4 weeks and then treated for another 24 weeks with interferon-alpha-2b alone (5 million units three times per week) (group A). All patients were followed for an additional 24 weeks. RESULTS: After 48 weeks of treatment, the percentage of patients with normalization of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels or hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels below 1000 copies/mL was not significantly different between the lamivudine monotherapy group (55.10% and 55.10%, respectively) and the sequential treatment group (59.36% and 56.25%, respectively). The percentage of patients with normalized ALT levels was significantly higher in group A (53%) than in group B (36%) at week 72 (P<0.05). The percentage of patients with lamivudine-resistant mutations was significantly higher with lamivudine monotherapy (22.45%) than with sequential therapy (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Sequential treatment of chronic hepatitis B with lamivudine and interferon-alpha monotherapies is as effective as lamivudine-alone treatment in Chinese patients. However, sequential treatment can significantly suppress the emergence of lamivudine-resistant mutations.     

干扰素α-2b加用阿德福韦酯治疗HBeAg阳性慢性乙肝的疗效观察

[目的]探讨加用阿德福韦酯(ADV)治疗单用干扰素α-2b 24周未能有效抑制HBV DNA复制病例的疗效.[方法]干扰素α-2b治疗的65例HBeAg阳性慢性乙肝患者在第24周时进行HBVDNA荧光定量PCR检测,若HBV DNA＞1×103拷贝/mL,则加用ADV重叠24周(A组,23例)及不加用ADV (B组,2...     

Long-term lamivudine treatment is associated with a good maintained response in severe acute exacerbation of chronic HBeAg-negative hepatitis B

Hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative chronic hepatitis B is difficult to treat and there is little long-term data for lamivudine treatment of severe acute exacerbation. We report a prospective, consecutive cohort of severe acute exacerbation of HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B patients treated by lamivudine between 1999 and 2004. All patients had respectively increased alanine aminotransferase and serum bilirubin to at least 10 and 2 times the upper limit of laboratory normal. Thirty-two patients were treated with lamivudine for 130 +/- 58 (range 48-217) weeks. Five patients had evidence of virological breakthrough (HBV DNA >10,000 copies/ml) during lamivudine treatment. The cumulative probability of maintained response without any virological breakthrough was 94% (95% confidence interval [CI], 86-100%) at year 1, 94% (95% CI, 82-100%) at year 2 and 71% (95% CI, 41-100%) at year 3. At the last follow-up visit, 31 (97%) lamivudine patients had HBV DNA <10,000 copies/ml. The prevalence of lamivudine resistance mutation was 1 in 32 patients (3%; 95% CI, 0-9%) at year 1, 1 in 17 patients (6%; 95% CI, 0-17%) at year 2, 1 in 9 patients (11%, 95% CI, 0-32%) at year 3 and 1 in 4 patients (25%; 95% CI, 0-67%) at year 4 of lamivudine treatment. In conclusion, extended lamivudine treatment is associated with a high maintained virological response and a low rate of drug resistance in severe acute exacerbation of HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B.     

Prediction of breakthrough hepatitis due to lamivudine-resistant hepatitis B virus by a sensitive semiquantitative assay using peptide nucleic acids

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to predict breakthrough hepatitis and analyze the dynamics of lamivudine-resistant hepatitis B virus in patients treated with lamivudine. METHODS: Fifty-five chronic hepatitis B patients treated with lamivudine were included. The emergence of YMDD motif mutants was detected by peptide nucleic acid (PNA) mediated PCR clamping with a detection limit of 10(1) YMDD mutants. We then performed a semiquantitative PCR assay of subjects in whom YMDD mutants were detected. This assay detects 10(2.7)-10(7.7) copies of mutant virus per 1 ml of serum. RESULTS: YMDD mutants were detected in 28 (51%) of the 55 patients. Eight patients stopped medication before viral breakthrough. YMDD mutants appeared transiently despite the continuance of lamivudine therapy in 12 patients. In all 8 patients with breakthrough hepatitis, the quantities of YMDD mutants ranged from 10(2.7)-10(4.7) copies/ml in the two to three months before clinical breakthrough. In contrast, in 12 patients without viral breakthrough, there were always less than 10(2.7) copies/ml YMDD mutants. CONCLUSIONS: Lamivudine-resistant viruses sometimes disappear even during lamivudine administration. Our sensitive quantitative assay proved useful for early detection of YMDD mutants and a threshold of 10(2.7) copies/ml is suggested for predicting viral breakthrough.     

Two-year lamivudine treatment for hepatitis B e antigen-negative chronic hepatitis B: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: We conducted a multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study to investigate the efficacy of 2-year lamivudine treatment in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative chronic hepatitis B. METHODS: One-hundred-and-thirty-nine treatment-naive patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B were randomized to receive either lamivudine (100 mg daily) or placebo in a 2:1 ratio for 24 months and were followed for an additional 6 months. The primary endpoint was complete response, defined as hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA < 10,000 copies/ml and normalization of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels at month 24. RESULTS: On intent-to-treat analysis at month 24, significantly more patients in the lamivudine group than in the placebo group had complete response (56% and 11%, respectively; P < 0.001) or negative HBV DNA (26% and 6%, respectively; P = 0.006). After adjustment of baseline HBV DNA and ALT, the odds ratio for complete response of the lamivudine group versus the placebo group was 10.8 (95% confidence interval: 3.8-30.2; P < 0.001). The median log HBV DNA reduction was 3.21 copies/ml for the lamivudine group compared with 0.47 copies/ml for the placebo group (P < 0.001). Genotypic resistance was detected in 23% and 31% of patients in the lamivudine group at months 12 and 24, respectively. Negative HBV DNA at month 6 was associated with high complete response (84%) and low drug resistance (1%) at month 24. At month 30, there was no difference between lamivudine and placebo groups in the rates of complete response (26% vs 19%, respectively; P = 0.38) or negative HBV DNA (10% vs 2%, respectively; P = 0.09). CONCLUSIONS: Two-year lamivudine treatment is effective in HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B. However, the response is not sustained after treatment cessation.     

联合方案治疗拉米夫定耐药HBeAg阳性慢性乙型肝炎患者的临床观察

[目的]观察拉米夫定（LAM）联合阿德福韦酯（ADV）与恩替卡韦（ETV）联合ADV治疗LAM耐药HBeAg阳性慢性乙型肝炎（CHB）的临床疗效.[方法]选择LAM耐药的HBeAg阳性CHB患者50例,随机分为LAM联合ADV组（A组）,ETV联合ADV组（B组）,每组各25例,观察两组在治疗前及治疗12、24、48周时HBV DNA载量、谷丙转氨酶（ALT）水平、HBV血清标志物变化.[结果]两组在治疗12、24、48周HBV DNA均较治疗前下降（P＜0.05）;治疗48周时A组与B组的HBV DNA阴转率和ALT复常率率分别为76.0％与88.0％、80.0％与92.0％,两组间差异无统计学意义（P＞0.05）;治疗24周HBV DNA阴转率B组高于A组（分别为84.0％,52.0％）,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）;治疗24周ALT复常率B组高于A组（分别为80.0％,52.0％）,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）;治疗过程中两组HBeAg阴转率比较差异无统计学意义（P＞0.05）;未出现严重不良反应及病毒学突破.[结论]LAM联合ADV与ETV联合ADV治疗LAM耐药HBeAg阳性CHB患者均能获得良好的临床疗效且安全性良好;ETV联合ADV能快速抑制HBV DNA及降低ALT,早期HBV DNA阴转率及ALT复常率高于LAM联合ADV.     

Sequential combination therapy leads to biochemical and histological improvement despite low ongoing intrahepatic hepatitis B virus replication

BACKGROUND: We previously reported that 48 weeks of combination therapy with pegylated interferon-alpha2b (PEG-IFN-alpha2b) and adefovir dipivoxil (ADV) in patients with chronic hepatitis B led to marked decreases of hepatitis B virus (HBV) covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) (-2.4 log10 copies/ml). Combination therapy was followed by 96 weeks of ADV monotherapy. METHODS: Here, we report on the final outcome after 144 weeks of sequential antiviral treatment. Twenty-four patients were analysed, triplet liver biopsies (taken at baseline, week 48 and week 144) were available from 16 patients. RESULTS: At week 144, 12/15 patients positive for hepatitis B virus e antigen (HBeAg) had lost HBeAg, alanine transaminase (ALT) levels were normal in 23 patients (96%), median serum HBV DNA had decreased by -4.9 log10 copies/ml and was undetectable (<100 copies/ml) in 11/24 individuals (46%). Median total intrahepatic HBV DNA had decreased by -2.2 log. Although no further significant cccDNA changes occurred between week 48 and week 144, two years of ADV monotherapy proved capable of controlling cccDNA levels in most patients. Analysis of intrahepatic HBV DNA species demonstrated that combination therapy with PEG-IFN-alpha2b and ADV inhibited viral productivity by 99% and subsequent ADV monotherapy by 76%, respectively. Virus suppression to undetectability within the first 12 weeks of treatment was strongly associated with long-term virological response and HBeAg and hepatitis B virus surface antigen HBsAg seroconversion. Histological improvement was determined in 11/16 patients at week 144. Two patients developed ADV resistance during the third year of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Reduction of intrahepatic viral load achieved after 48 weeks of combination therapy with PEG-IFN-alpha2b and ADV was maintained in the following 96 weeks of ADV monotherapy and translated into long-term clinical benefit for most of the treated patients.     

Lamivudine as an alternative therapy for interferon-resistant chronic hepatitis B and the characteristics of hepatitis B virus: a case report

A 27-year-old man who had been diagnosed as having chronic hepatitis B suffered disease exacerbation with marked reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Treatment with interferon (IFN) did not improve his condition, and his serum HBV DNA level increased to over 10 000 pg/ml during IFN administration. Following replacement with lamivudine, there was a substantial reduction in HBV DNA to an undetectable level, and liver function parameters subsequently improved to within the normal range. Quantitative analysis of the precore mutant HBV DNA, which is a variant that cannot express hepatitis B e antigen due to a G-to-A point mutation in the precore region of the viral genome, revealed that the amount present was greater than for the precore wild-type HBV DNA in the serum taken before IFN treatment. This case suggests that lamivudine would be an appropriate alternative to IFN, particularly in patients infected with HBV containing an excess of precore mutants resistant to IFN therapy.     

Early Entecavir Treatment for Chronic Hepatitis B with Severe Acute Exacerbation

A previous study found that lamivudine, if started early enough, may improve the chance of survival in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) with severe acute exacerbation (SAE). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of early entecavir treatment before the bilirubin level exceeds 20 mg/dl for chronic HBV with SAE. Consecutive patients with chronic HBV with SAE and a serum bilirubin level of <20 mg/dl who received lamivudine or entecavir were enrolled. Short-term (4 months) survival was evaluated. One hundred fourteen patients received lamivudine, and 53 patients received entecavir. The baseline characteristics were similar for the two groups except that the entecavir group was older and had a lower alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level. Three patients (8.0%) in the entecavir group and 9 patients (7.9%) in the lamivudine group died (P = 1.000). If only patients who started antiviral treatment before serum bilirubin level rose to more than 15 mg/dl were included, 3 patients (8.3%) in the entecavir group and 3 patients (3.0%) in the lamivudine group died (P = 0.189). If only patients with an HBV DNA level higher than 10⁵ copies/ml and a bilirubin level lower than 15 mg/dl were included, 5 out of 40 patients (12.5%) in the entecavir group died and 1 out of 59 patients (1.7%) in the lamivudine group died. Multivariate analysis found that entecavir treatment was associated with more mortality than lamivudine (P = 0.035). Early entecavir treatment in patients with high viral load is associated with more short-term mortality than lamivudine for chronic HBV with severe acute exacerbation.     

拉米夫定治疗HBeAg阳性慢性乙型肝炎的疗效预测分析

目的分析拉米夫定治疗HBeAg阳性慢性乙型肝炎52周疗效与24周抑制HBVDNA程度的相关性,探讨临床疗效预测指标。方法回顾性分析拉米夫定治疗HBeAg阳性慢性乙型肝炎患者96例,根据治疗24周时HBVDNA是否阴转（HBVDNA〈10^3拷贝／ml）分为病毒学转阴组和未转阴组,比较两组治疗52周时HBVDNA、HBeAg、ALT和YMDD病毒变异。结果治疗52周时,转阴组和未转阴组HBVDNA、HBeAg转阴率、ALT复常率和YMDD变异率分别为87．7％、59．6％、93．0％、3．5％和48．7％、30．8％、2．6％、74．4％、28．2％,有统计学意义（P〈0．01）。结论拉米夫定治疗24周时,若HBVDNA〈10^3拷贝／ml,52周可获得较好疗效;若HBVDNA〉10^3拷贝／ml,则52周时疗效不佳且发生耐药的可能性增加。24周拉米夫定对HBVDNA的抑制程度可作为1年疗效的预测指标。     

Interferon-lamivudine combination is no better than lamivudine alone in anti-HBe-positive chronic hepatitis B

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Results of studies using lamivudine and interferon combination in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B are not consistent or conclusive. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of interferon plus lamivudine use versus single lamivudine in anti-HBe-positive chronic hepatitis B. METHODS: Eighty patients were treated with either lamivudine or lamivudine plus simultaneously started interferon. Patients were assigned in groups according to random allocation rule. Lamivudine was given 150 mg/day for 96 weeks in each group; interferon was administered 10 MU three times a week for 24 weeks in the combination therapy group. RESULTS: Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) normalization was achieved earlier in patients treated with lamivudine alone. At the end of treatment, there was no difference between the groups with respect to HBV DNA negativity, ALT normalization and breakthrough rate. Histological improvement was remarkable in each group, but fibrosis score and necro-inflammatory activity were much lower in lamivudine-treated patients. CONCLUSIONS: Addition of interferon to the lamivudine regimen does not increase the effectiveness of the treatment. Considering the side effects of interferon treatment, this combination seems not to be convenient for anti-HBe-positive chronic hepatitis B.