Stopping Lamivudine Therapy in Hepatitis B–Infected Patients

Can hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive patients receiving hepatitis B virus (HBV) treatment reasonably stop such treatment if they seroconvert to hepatitis B e antibody positivity? Current guidelines indicate that they can, but little evidence is available to support these recommendations. Now, investigators in Hong Kong have reported relapse rates for 22 HBV patients who stopped lamivudine therapy after achieving HBeAg seroconversion and 79 who continued therapy after seroconversion.

Patients who stopped therapy did so for financial reasons, usually about 2 years after seroconversion (range, 6–94 months). These patients were then monitored at 3- to 6-month intervals for a median of 20 months. Patients who continued therapy were monitore…