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Four-year follow up of hepatitis C patients vaccinated against hepatitis B virus

Slawomir Chlabicz1, Tadeusz-Wojciech Lapinski, Anna Grzeszczuk

  • 1Mieszka I 4B 15-054 Bialystok, Poland. schlabicz@poczta.onet.pl

World Journal of Gastroenterology
|March 29, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Four years after hepatitis B vaccination, over 60% of chronic hepatitis C patients lacked protective antibody levels, increasing their risk for hepatitis B virus infection. Further research is needed to assess long-term immune memory.

Area of Science:

  • Hepatology
  • Immunology
  • Vaccinology

Background:

  • Patients with chronic hepatitis C (HCV) are recommended for hepatitis B vaccination.
  • Assessing long-term immunogenicity and efficacy of hepatitis B vaccination in HCV patients is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate hepatitis B immunogenicity and efficacy 4 years post-primary immunization in chronic hepatitis C patients.
  • To determine if hepatitis C virus infection impacts the sustained antibody response to hepatitis B vaccination.

Main Methods:

  • 36 chronic hepatitis C patients vaccinated with recombinant HBsAg (20 μg) on a 0-1-6 month schedule were studied.
  • Anti-HBs and anti-HBc titers were measured 4 years after the third vaccine dose.
  • A control group of 10 healthy individuals was included for comparison.

Main Results:

  • Only 36% of hepatitis C patients maintained seroprotective anti-HBs titers after 4 years, compared to 90% in controls (P<0.05).
  • Mean anti-HBs concentration was significantly lower in hepatitis C patients (18.3 mIU/mL) than in controls (156.0 mIU/mL) (P<0.05).
  • No breakthrough hepatitis B virus infections were observed in either group, confirmed by negative anti-HBc.

Conclusions:

  • A significant proportion of vaccinated chronic hepatitis C patients (>60%) lose seroprotective antibody levels 4 years after hepatitis B immunization.
  • Inadequate anti-HBs titers may increase the risk of clinically significant breakthrough hepatitis B infections in this population.
  • Further studies are needed to investigate the role of B and T lymphocyte memory in providing protection in the absence of adequate antibody titers.
Abstract

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