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Clinical Trial
. 2004 Apr;24(2):98-104.
doi: 10.1111/j.1478-3231.2004.0889.x.

Sequential combination therapy of HBe antigen-negative/virus-DNA-positive chronic hepatitis B with famciclovir or lamivudine and interferon-alpha-2a

Ingolf Schiefke  1 , Chris Klecker, Melanie Maier, Ute Oesen, Gunnar Etzrodt, Andrea Tannapfel, Uwe G Liebert, Frieder Berr
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Sequential combination therapy of HBe antigen-negative/virus-DNA-positive chronic hepatitis B with famciclovir or lamivudine and interferon-alpha-2a

Ingolf Schiefke et al. Liver Int. 2004 Apr.

Abstract

Background/aims: Hepatitis B e antigen-negative/hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHBe-) exhibits a high relapse rate on monotherapy with lamivudine or interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha). We investigated, whether sequential therapy with famciclovir or lamivudine followed by combination with IFN-alpha-2a improves durable virologic response in CHBe- characterized by mutation analysis of the HBV precore genome region.

Methods: Fourteen patients were treated with famciclovir (n=3) or lamivudine for 4 weeks to reduce the viral load, and subsequently with the combination of the nucleoside analogue and IFN-alpha-2a until 16 weeks beyond the loss of serum HBV-DNA.

Results: Median duration of therapy was 29.0 weeks (range 20.6-48.3 weeks). Serum HBV-DNA was undetectable and alanine aminotransferase had normalized in all patients at the end of treatment. Seven (50%) patients maintained a sustained response 12 months after end of treatment. Only two of them had been infected by HBV with the G1896A mutation. Most patients (5/7) with the G1896A mutation relapsed within 4 months after therapy.

Conclusion: Sequential combination therapy can induce sustained virologic response in a subgroup of CHBe-, but most with the G1896A precore mutant HBV relapse. Trials of CHBe- should be based on characterization of HBV mutants.

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