Pegasys Plus Entecavir Versus Entecavir Versus Pegasys for Hepatitis B e Antigen-Negative Chronic Hepatitis B

Currently, there are several antiviral treatments effective for suppression of viral replication but still failed to cure HBV infection in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Seven drugs have been worldwide approved for the treatment of CHB at present: conventional IFN (IFN) alfa, lamivudine (LAM), adefovir dipivoxil (ADV), pegylated IFN (Peg-IFN) alfa, entecavir (ETV), telbivudine (LdT) and tenofovir (TDF). Conventional or Peg-IFN alfa monotherapy has a narrow range of efficacy, is associated with several adverse effects and is inconvenient because of frequent injections. Oral nucleot(s)ide analogues (NA) are better tolerated; but virologic response to NA is frequently not durable and prolonged treatment is associated with the emergence of drug-resistant HBV mutants. Although the best treatment choice for CHB is not clarified yet, certain therapeutic concepts could be derived from the experience of treating patients with chronic hepatitis C or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. A major advancement in treating hepatitis C or HIV infection has been the development of combination therapy. Combination therapy has ever been investigated in patients with CHB, but again the optimal strategy remains to be identified. Entecavir, a carbocyclic deoxyguanosine NA, is one of the most potent anti-HBV agents ever discovered. In addition, the 6-year drug resistance rate is 1.2% in selected lamivudine-naïve cohorts. Pegylated interferon alfa-2a possesses both antiviral and immunomodulatory effects. Overall, satisfactory virologic and serologic responses could be achieved using pegylated IFN alfa in around 30-44% of these patients. Whether the combination therapy using Peg-IFN alfa-2a plus ETV can achieve a long-term beneficial effect against ETV or Peg-IFN alfa-2a alone is not clarified. A prior single-arm pilot study suggested that similar combination therapy may be beneficial in patients with CHB. In this proposal, the investigators thus hypothesize that the effi