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Current therapy for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection includes interferon and oral agents such as lamivudine, adefovir, and entecavir. In a multinational, randomized, partially blinded, industry-sponsored trial, researchers compared the efficacy of peginterferon alfa-2a alone (180 μg/week with oral placebo), lamivudine alone (100 mg/day), and both drugs in 814 hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive patients.
All patients were treated for 48 weeks and followed for an additional 24 weeks. At the end of follow-up, seroconversion rates (loss of HBeAg) were significantly higher with peginterferon monotherapy and combination therapy than with lamivudine monotherapy (32% and 27% vs. 19%). Rates of viral suppression (HBV DNA levels <100,000 …