Sustained Off Therapy Response after Peglyated Interferon Favors Functional Cure and No Disease Progression in Chronic Hepatitis B

BACKGROUND & AIMS ucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) therapy in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients reduces liver-related mortality. However, long-term outcomes after pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) therapy remain to be elucidated. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the long-term effectiveness and clinical outcomes of PEG-IFN therapy. METHODS A total of 190 patients treated with PEG-IFN for CHB or compensated liver cirrhosis were consecutively enrolled between 2005 and 2014, and 122 patients who completed the treatment were analyzed. The initial response was assessed at 6 months post-treatment and defined as achieving both <2,000 IU/mL HBV DNA and HBeAg loss or seroconversion in the HBeAg-positive group, and <2,000 IU/mL HBV DNA in the HBeAg-negative group. The rates of HBsAg loss, disease progression to cirrhosis or HCC, and sustained off-therapy response, defined as not requiring further NAs due to low viremia and liver enzymes, were analyzed. RESULTS The median follow-up period was 7.2 years. Forty-three (35.2%) patients achieved an initial response and 53 patients (43.4%) achieved a sustained response. Initial responders displayed higher rates of sustained response than noninitial responders (69.6% vs. 32.5%, P<0.001). A higher rate of HBsAg loss was observed in patients who achieved a sustained response than in non-sustained responders (16.2% vs. 2.5%, P=0.01). Disease progression to cirrhosis or HCC was observed in 8 patients (6.6%) who were nonsustained responders. CONCLUSIONS During long-term follow-up after PEG-IFN treatment, nearly half of patients achieved sustained response without the need of further NA and these patients displayed favorable outcomes, including HBsAg loss and no disease progression.