Performance of serum HBcrAg in chronic hepatitis B patients with 8-year nucleos(t)ide analogs therapy

Aim: This study aimed to investigate long-term kinetics of serum hepatitis B core-related anti-gen (HBcrAg) and its correlation with serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in a real-world cohort of patients who had received over 8 years of nucleos(t)ide analogs(NAs) therapy. Methods: This was a retrospective study. All patients were recruited from our previous pub- fished study, who started therapy with NAs between 2007 and 2008. Serum HBcrAg and HBsAg levels were quantitatively measured at baseline, the sixth month and each year of follow-up, using the stored serum samples. Results: Among the 94 patients, serum HBcrAg presented a gradually decreasing trend from baseline to year 8, either in HBeAg-negative or HBeAg-positive patients. After 8 years of NAs treatment, 21.3% of patients achieved serum HBcrAg <3 log 10 U/mL, and only baseline HBcrAg was an independent predictor. Additionally, good correlation of HBcrAg and HBsAg was observed at baseline, but this correlation weakened remarkably during treatment. Conclusion: Serum HBcrAg is decreasing gradually with the duration of antiviral therapy, and baseline HBcrAg level is an independent predictor of long-term HBcrAg below the limit of detection. (C) 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.