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Current status of antiviral therapy for hepatitis B

Daryl T-Y Lau1, Wissam Bleibel

  • 1Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School (HMS), Director of Translational Liver Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, HMS Liver Center, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, 110 Francis Street, Suite 4A, Boston, MA 02215. dlau@bidmc.harvard.edu.

Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology
|December 25, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) affects 400 million globally. Current therapies offer benefits but face limitations like side effects and drug resistance, necessitating research for ideal treatments.

Area of Science:

  • Hepatology
  • Virology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is a significant global health issue, causing liver failure and cancer, leading to 1.2 million deaths annually.
  • CHB's natural history is complex, but recent advancements have introduced new oral therapies.
  • The primary therapeutic aim is to halt liver injury progression and prevent severe complications like liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the current landscape of CHB therapies, including approved agents and their limitations.
  • To highlight the need for ongoing research to identify safer, more effective treatments with durable responses.
  • To emphasize the importance of prospective natural history studies for guiding treatment strategies.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current literature on CHB epidemiology, natural history, and therapeutic agents.
  • Analysis of efficacy, limitations, and side-effect profiles of existing CHB treatments.
  • Discussion of the current status and future directions in CHB therapy research.

Main Results:

  • Six agents are approved for CHB, demonstrating virological, biochemical, and histological benefits in monotherapy.
  • Limitations include interferon's side effects and oral agents' potential for drug resistance.
  • Current combination therapies do not show superior durability compared to monotherapy.

Conclusions:

  • Existing CHB therapies have limitations, underscoring the need for novel treatments offering safety, efficacy, and durable responses.
  • Further research is critical to develop ideal CHB therapies with a finite treatment course.
  • Prospective natural history studies are essential for identifying disease progression predictors and optimizing treatment strategies.

Keywords:
Hepatitis B virusdrug resistancenucleos(t)ide analoguespegylated interferon

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