Clinical Significance and Remaining Issues of Anti-HBc Antibody and HBV Core-Related Antigen

Area of Science:

• Hepatology and Virology
• Clinical Diagnostics and Biomarkers

Background:

• Hepatitis B virus (HBV) core antibody (anti-HBc) and HBV core-related antigen (HBcrAg) are established serum markers for HBV diagnosis.
• These markers are derived from the HBV core region and play crucial roles in understanding HBV infection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the clinical significance of current anti-HBc antibody and HBcrAg assay systems.
• To summarize the challenges and advancements in the interpretation and standardization of these diagnostic markers.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on anti-HBc antibody and HBcrAg assays.
• Analysis of clinical data associated with quantitative assays and high-sensitivity detection methods.

Main Results:

• Quantitative anti-HBc antibody assays show reevaluated clinical significance, correlating with disease stage, carcinogenesis, and reactivation prediction.
• New high-sensitivity HBcrAg assays demonstrate diagnostic value, particularly in predicting HBV reactivation.
• Discrepancies in units across anti-HBc antibody assay systems complicate result interpretation.

Conclusions:

• Highly sensitive HBcrAg and anti-HBc antibody assays have led to rapid and sensitive detection systems in clinical practice.
• Standardization of assay systems is challenging due to varying advantages, necessitating caution in result interpretation.
• The development of a global standard for these markers is anticipated based on accumulated clinical findings.