Active hepatitis B virus (HBC) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are very common worldwide. Approximately one-third of the world’s population (more than 2 billion people) is infected with hepatitis B virus and 350 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus. Approximately 150 million people have chronic hepatitis C virus infection and 350,000 people die each year from HCV-related liver disease. At a special symposium entitled “Key Topics in Treatment Support” at the 2012 European Oncology Annual Meeting in Vienna, Dr. John Lubel from the Eastern Health Organization in Melbourne, Australia, presented the case of HBV patients on treatment. presented treatment strategies and approaches for patients with HBV and HCV undergoing treatment. Different treatments are necessary because of the different virology, natural history and treatment approaches of the two viruses, he said. Host immunity and viral replication are balanced in patients with chronic viral hepatitis, which results in the body’s immune suppression not playing a role in viral replication. Serious complications are rare in non-cirrhotic hepatitis C patients; most patients with hepatitis C receiving immunosuppressive therapy like chemotherapy require testing. In contrast, patients with hepatitis B experience relapses during immunosuppressive therapy, which can lead to liver failure; in some of the most extreme cases, liver transplantation or even death is required. Although the hepatitis B virus does not kill cells, the inflammatory response to immune-mediated injury and the inflammatory response that occurs after a period of maximal immunosuppression can be very harmful. To prevent this inflammatory response, it is recommended that patients with chronic hepatitis B take antiviral medications before immunosuppressive therapy for prevention and for one year after immunotherapy. Patients with high viral loads require antivirals like entecavir and tenofovir; these drugs are highly effective against viral resistance. Lamivudine is fine for patients with low or undetectable viral loads. It appears that activated virus in patients who have cleared hepatitis B virus infection can be reproduced in surface antigen after a hepatitis relapse. He also noted that this situation seems to be particularly likely in regimens that include anti-CD20 antibodies. Therefore, patients who cannot be closely monitored for viral replication by HBV DNA quantification and liver function tests should also receive antiviral prophylaxis.