Does Hepatitis B require long-term treatment?

In the past, we often emphasized that there is no specific drug for hepatitis B and that adherence to long-term treatment is the key. However, nowadays, we often hear that chronic hepatitis B treatment can pursue a durable response after stopping the drug, that is, stopping the drug. In fact, this reflects the exploration and progress of chronic hepatitis B treatment in recent years. In the past, the reason for emphasizing the long-term adherence to antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis B is that a large number of studies have found that antiviral therapy can effectively inhibit HBV replication, slow down disease progression, and avoid the occurrence of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Unfortunately, although commonly used antiviral drugs, nucleoside analogs, can play the above therapeutic effects during the period of treatment, and once the drugs are discontinued, the HBV in some patients replicate again, and the disease relapses, it is obvious that in order to maintain the disease stability, the drugs should not be discontinued. Obviously, in order to maintain the stability of the disease, the drug cannot be stopped. However, as more and more patients receive nucleoside analogs on a long-term basis, some problems, such as cost increases and compliance issues, have gradually emerged. Exploring strategies to help nucleoside discontinuation has become the focus of research related to chronic hepatitis B. In recent years, OSST studies have been conducted. In recent years, the OSST study, the NEW SWITCH study, and others have explored a new option for nucleoside discontinuation: switching to long-acting interferon therapy. The results of these studies have found that switching to long-acting interferon therapy in patients receiving nucleoside analogs can significantly improve the e-antigen conversion rate and the surface antigen clearance rate, and can effectively help some patients discontinue their drugs. Can all patients on nucleoside therapy switch regimens? Although the conversion of long-acting interferon program has been confirmed by high-quality research, but not for everyone, the results of the study suggest that, in the nucleoside analog therapy after HBV DNA conversion, e antigen clearance, while the surface antigen level has been relatively low patients are more suitable for the conversion of long-acting interferon regimen, compared with the continuation of the original nucleoside therapy, this type of patients, e antigen conversion rate can be increased by a factor of three or more, and surface antigen clearance rate can be increased by a factor of three or more. The e-antigen conversion rate of these patients can be increased 3-fold and the clearance rate of surface antigen can reach about 25% compared with the continuation of the original nucleoside therapy. For patients who do not meet these conditions, it is still necessary to adhere to the treatment, wait for the right time, and then strive to achieve the discontinuation of the drug by switching treatment.