Which patients with chronic hepatitis B are suitable for interferon therapy

  The key to the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B is antiviral therapy, and interferon is favored by clinicians because of its dual antiviral and immunomodulatory effects, relatively fixed duration of therapy compared with nucleoside analogs, lack of viral resistance, high hepatitis B E antigen serologic conversion rate and relatively durable response. However, because interferon has certain side effects and is more expensive making it less acceptable to patients, screening superior patients for interferon therapy is more in line with health economics. For clinicians, it is a difficult and hot issue to predict the efficacy of patients before treatment and the changes of indicators during treatment in order to give individualized treatment plans for different CHB patients.  Numerous studies have found that changes in HBV DNA, ALT, HBsAg, HBeAg levels and hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) before and during treatment can affect the efficacy of interferon and can predict the sustained response rate after treatment. The predictive indexes before and during treatment of CHB patients with interferon therapy are introduced: I. Predictive factors before interferon therapy [1] HBV DNA level: Patients with HBV DNA <107 copies/ml before treatment have better efficacy with interferon therapy.  [2] ALT level: When ALT is within 5-10 times the upper limit of normal value, the incidence of HBeAg serological conversion can be as high as 50%-60%.  [3] HBsAg level: The lower the HBsAg titer at the time of initial treatment, the easier it is for HBeAg serological conversion to occur and the easier it is for HBsAg to turn negative.  [4] HBeAg level: Patients with low pre-treatment HBeAg levels have a higher percentage of HBeAg serological conversion.  [5] HBV genotype: E antigen-positive patients with B genotype have a relatively high response rate to interferon alpha therapy [6] Heavy inflammatory necrosis and mild fibrosis of liver tissue are also better predictors of outcome  [7] Other factors: female, short duration of disease, non-mother-to-child transmission, no HCV or HIV co-infection, and predictive factors in interferon therapy. Pre-treatment characteristics are of some value in predicting treatment outcome, but the immune response of patients during treatment is the determinant of efficacy, so the dynamic changes of various effective reference indicators during the course of treatment may be more predictive and instructive.  [1] HBV DNA load: In CHB patients with good treatment compliance, undetectable serum HBV DNA at 12 or 24 weeks of treatment is a predictor of better efficacy.  [2] ALT level: Within 1 to 2 months after starting interferon therapy, ALT remains at 3 to 5 times the upper limit of normal value or fluctuates significantly for better efficacy [3] HBsAg level: At 24 weeks of treatment, if HBsAg can be reduced to less than 1500 IU/ml, the chance of HBeAg serological conversion is higher. conversion or increased serological conversion rate. At 24 weeks of interferon treatment for HBeAg-positive patients, if HBsAg quantification decreases to ≤1500 IU/ml, continue treatment until 48 weeks; for those who have HBeAg serological conversion at 48 weeks and HBsAg quantification continues or decreases significantly to less than 250 IU/ml, extend treatment to 72 weeks or longer to achieve HBsAg clearance; for those who still do not have HBeAg serological conversion at 48 weeks Patients with no HBeAg seroconversion at 48 weeks will continue to extend treatment until 72 weeks. If the patient's HBsAg quantification drops to 1500-20,000 IU/ml at 24 weeks of treatment, the treatment can be extended to 72 weeks. Thus, the clinical treatment can be adjusted based on HBsAg quantitative response-guided therapy (RGT) strategy to achieve better efficacy.  [4] HBeAg levels: The more significant the sustained decrease in HBeAg titers at 24 weeks of treatment, the higher the long-term HBeAg seroconversion rate.  In conclusion, there are many factors influencing the efficacy of antiviral therapy in CHB patients, and we should consider all factors such as virus and host to select those who are suitable for interferon therapy at baseline. More importantly, the dynamic changes in HBV DNA levels and HBsAg and HBeAg should be monitored regularly during the treatment process to provide a basis for adjusting the individualized treatment regimen and course of chronic hepatitis B, in order to achieve a "satisfactory" or "ideal" treatment The end point of treatment is "satisfactory" or "ideal".