Therapeutic efficacy of combination therapy with interferon and a nucleoside analogue for treating chronic hepatitis B patients

ObjectiveTo observe the therapeutic efficacy of combination therapy with interferon (IFN) and a nucleoside analogue for treating chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. MethodsTwo-hundred-and-seven patients diagnosed with CHB were assigned to the following treatment groups: IFN in combination with a nucleoside analogue (group A); IFN monotherapy (group B). The patients in group A were further divided into three combination treatment sub-groups, according to the particular nucleoside analogue administered: lamivudine (LAM; sub-group A1, n=59); adefovir dipivoxil (ADV; sub-group A2, n=56); and entecavir (ETV; sub-group A3; n=31). All of the patients received pegylated-IFN (either IFN -2a or IFN -2b) for 52 weeks. The patients in group A received the combination therapy with nucleoside analogue immediately upon initiation of the IFN treatment and lasting for a total of 24 weeks, after which IFN monotherapy was carried out. ResultsIn groups A and B, respectively, 86.3% and 65.6% achieved undetectable levels of HBV DNA at the end of treatment. However, group A achieved a higher rate of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) normalization rate (87.7% vs. group B: 765%, P＜0.05). Group A also achieved a significantly higher rates of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) clearance (69.3% vs. group B: 40%, P＜0.05), hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) clearance (30.1% vs. group B: 16.4%, P＜0.05), and HBsAg seroconversion (26.7% vs. group B: 11.5%, P＜0.05). ConclusionThe combination treatment of IFN plus a nucleoside analogue is more efficacious than IFN monotherapy for treating CHB patients.