Long-Term Efficacy of Entecavir for People with Hepatitis B

Long-term entecavir (Baraclude) monotherapy leads to a virological response in a large majority of nucleoside/nucleotide analog-naive patients, even those who still have detectable HBV DNA at 48 weeks.

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Entecavir vs Adefovir in Hepatitis B Patients with Liver Decompensation

In a head-to-head comparison, entecavir (Baraclude) demonstrated superior virological efficacy compared to adefovir (Hepsera) in hepatitis B patients with decompensated liver disease.

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Deferoxamine Shows Promise for Liver Cancer in People with Advanced Disease

Deferoxamine, a cancer drug that has an anti-proliferative effect on tumor cells, led to improvement of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in 2 out of 10 patients with moderate-to-severe liver disease, according to a letter in the August 11, 2011, New England Journal of Medicine.

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HBV Antivirals, Viral Breakthrough, and Drug Resistance

Virological breakthrough is common among people taking nucleoside/nucleotide analogs for HBV, but nearly 40% are unrelated to drug resistance.

As described in the June 2011 issue of Hepatology by Chanunta Hongthanakornand colleagues from the University of Michigan Health System, medication adherence is likely to be lower in real-world clinical practice than in clinical trials. Differentiating between virological breakthroughs caused by drug resistance and those due to poor adherence can help clinicians provide better care and treatment for people with hepatitis.

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Early HBeAg Decrease Predicts Response to Entecavir (Baraclude) for Hepatitis B

Decreases in hepatitis B "e" antigen (HBeAg) during the first 6 months of treatment with entecavir (Baraclude) are a better indicator than hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels of which patients will go on to achieve HBeAg seroconversion, according to a recent Chinese study.

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Entecavir Effective for Hepatitis B Patients with Liver Cancer

Initial treatment with entecavir (Baraclude) monotherapy worked well in chronic hepatitis B patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, lowering viral load and improving liver health.

Over years or decades chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection can lead to serious liver disease including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Treatment with antiviral drugs can lower HBV viral load, potentially clear the virus, and reduce the risk of liver disease progression, but its effectiveness in people who already have advanced disease has been less extensively studied.

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Interpreting Hepatitis B Tests

The following table from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides interpretations for Hepatitis B serologic markers. A PDF version is also available.

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Causes of Death Among People with Hepatitis B and C

Deaths due to most liver-related causes dropped among people with hepatitis B, and people with hepatitis C were less likely to die of drug-related causes, but mortality due to hepatocellular carcinoma remained stable, according to a large Australian study. Coinfection with HIV increased mortality significantly.

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