Long–Term Follow–Up of Interferon Alfa Treatment in Chinese Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B Infection: the Effect on Hepatitis B E Antigen Seroconversion and the Development of Cirrhosis–Related Complications

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Abstract
The long–term effect of interferon alfa (IFN–α) in Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis B infection is unknown. A total of 411 chronic hepatitis B patients (208 treated with IFN–α and 203 as control) were followed up for hepatitis B serology and the development of hepatoma and other cirrhosis–related complications. The hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion rate in the IFN–α-treated group, though significantly greater at 6 and 24 months, was comparable with the control group on subsequent follow–up, irrespective of pretreatment alanine transaminase (ALT) levels. HBeAg seroreversion rate was higher in the IFN–α group compared with the control group (21.1% vs. 2.2%; P = .001). Loss of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) occurred in 2.4% of the IFN–α-treated patients and 0.49% of the control patients (P = NS). Around 90% of the anti–HBe-positive patients in both groups were still hepatitis B virus (HBV)–DNA-positive by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Two patients suffered from hepatic reactivation during the course of treatment. Nine (4.3%) patients in the IFN–α group and 2 (1.0%) in the control group developed complications of cirrhosis and hepatoma (P = .062). In Chinese HBsAg carriers, IFN–α was of no long–term benefit in inducing HBeAg seroconversion or in the prevention of hepatoma and other cirrhosis–related complications.

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