Re-Treatment of Patients With Anti-HBe-Positive

liver411

From Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Re-Treatment of Patients With Anti-HBe-Positive Chronic Hepatitis B Who
Relapsed After an Initial Course of Lamivudine
Posted 11/20/2003

G. A. Niro, T. Santantonio, R. Fontana, M. Insalata, D. Facciorusso, F.
Signorile, F. Perri, A. Guastadisegni, D. Gioffreda, O. Palmieri, G.
Pastore, A. Andriulli

Summary
Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of a long-term course of lamivudine
monotherapy in patients with anti-HBe-positive chronic hepatitis B who
relapsed after the first course of either lamivudine/interferon (n = 16;
Group 1) or lamivudine (n = 20; Group 2).
Methods: Biochemical and virological tests were performed every 3 months. At
baseline and breakthrough, the region coding for the YMDD amino acid motif
was sequenced.
Results: The length of re-treatment averaged 24 months. The virological
response peaked at 6 months (94.4%), and declined to 66.7% and 50% at 12 and
24 months, respectively. The rates of breakthrough were 2.9%, 31.4% and
48.6% at 6, 12 and 24 months, respectively. By the second year, responders
amounted to 62.5% and 40% in Groups 1 and 2, respectively (P = 0.10). The 18
responders at month 24 are still on therapy after 25-51 months of treatment:
14 still maintain a response, nine from Group 1 and five from Group 2.
Conclusions: Re-treatment with lamivudine can control viral replication.
This effect is maintained for the initial 12 months in two-thirds of
patients, but afterwards the duration of response lessens due to the
development of viral resistance.

FULL TEXT ARTICLE: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/463310?rss