The decline of HBV RNA associated with HBeAg seroconversion and double-negative HBV DNA and RNA in chronic hepatitis B patients who received entecavir therapy: a 10-year retrospective cohort study

Feng Ye; Wenjuan Zhao; Xueliang Yang; Xi Zhang; Xiaocui An; Ruixue Zhu; Yunru Chen; Xiaojing Liu; Jianzhou Li; Kang Li; Jie Zheng; Shumei Lin; Lei Shi

doi:10.21037/atm-22-3265

The decline of HBV RNA associated with HBeAg seroconversion and double-negative HBV DNA and RNA in chronic hepatitis B patients who received entecavir therapy: a 10-year retrospective cohort study

Ann Transl Med. 2022 Aug;10(16):897. doi: 10.21037/atm-22-3265.

Authors

Feng Ye^#¹, Wenjuan Zhao^#¹, Xueliang Yang¹, Xi Zhang¹, Xiaocui An¹, Ruixue Zhu¹, Yunru Chen¹, Xiaojing Liu¹, Jianzhou Li¹, Kang Li¹, Jie Zheng¹, Shumei Lin¹, Lei Shi¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Whether the decline of hepatitis B virus (HBV) RNA was associated with antiviral efficacy in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients receiving long-term nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) therapy remains unclear. We observed the levels of serum HBV RNA in CHB patients treated with entecavir (ETV) for 10 years and explored the clinical significance of HBV RNA during long-term antiviral treatment.

Methods: A total of 33 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive CHB patients treated with ETV for up to 10 years were recruited for this study. Liver function, HBsAg, hepatitis B envelope antigen (HBeAg), HBV DNA, and HBV RNA were measured at the baseline and each follow-up points. Antiviral efficacy was defined as negative HBV DNA (<20 IU/mL) and HBV RNA (<300 Copies/mL).

Results: (I) Serum HBV DNA and HBV RNA declined with the duration of antiviral treatment over 10 years (P<0.001). (II) There were positive correlations between serum HBV DNA and HBV RNA at each follow-up point (r=0.62 and P<0.001 at baseline, r=0.77 and P<0.001 at week 24, r=0.71 and P<0.001 at week 48, r=0.81 and P<0.001 at week 96, r=0.60 and P<0.01 at year 5 and r=0.77 and P<0.001 at year 10). (III) HBeAg and HBsAg levels at baseline and 10th year after ETV treatment have significant difference (P<0.05 and P<0.01). (IV) The decline of HBV RNA after ETV treatment was associated with HBeAg seroconversion, the area under the ROC curves (AUROCs) of the declines of HBV RNA were 0.25 at the baseline, 0.62 at week 24, 0.78 at week 48 and 0.86 at week 96, respectively. (V) The decline of HBV RNA after ETV treatment was associated with antiviral efficacy, the AUROCs of the declines of HBV RNA were 0.33 at the baseline, 0.74 at week 24, 0.83 at week 48 and 0.86 at week 96, respectively.

Conclusions: Serum HBV DNA and HBV RNA declined with the duration of antiviral treatment over 10 years. The decline of HBV RNA was associated with HBeAg seroconversion and antiviral efficacy in CHB patients receiving long-term ETV therapy, and the earliest prediction point was week 24.

Keywords: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB); HBV DNA; HBV RNA; antiviral treatment; hepatitis B envelope antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion.