Antiviral-Induced Hepatitis B e Antigen Seroconversion: It's Usually Temporary

Patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) who are negative for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) require lifelong oral antiviral therapy because viral activity usually reemerges when treatment is stopped. In HBeAg-positive HBV-infected patients, HBeAg seroconversion has been associated with sustained remission and low risk for disease progression. Small studies have suggested that sustained remission after adefovir-induced HBeAg seroconversion is durable in as many as 90% of patients (Clin Infect Dis 2008; 47:1305); a study of lamivudine-induced seroconversion documented long-term remission in only 56% of patients (JW Gastroenterol Dec 19 2007).

To evaluate the durability of remission in HBeAg-positive HBV-infected patients after HBeAg sero…