Loading...
Some data suggest that a combination of an oral antiviral plus peginterferon might improve the chance for permanent viral clearance in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection compared with each therapy alone.
In an industry-sponsored, open-label, active-controlled study, 740 patients (58% hepatitis B e antigen [HBeAg]–positive, 66% men, 75% Asian) with HBV infection were randomized in a 1:1:1:1 ratio to receive tenofovir (TDF) 300 mg once daily plus peginterferon α-2a (PEG) 180 µg weekly for 48 weeks; TDF plus PEG for 16 weeks followed by 32 weeks of TDF alone; TDF alone for 120 weeks; or PEG alone for 48 weeks.
At week 72, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) loss (the primary endpoint) occurred at a rate of 9%, 3%, 0%, and 3%…