Nucleos(t)ide analogues therapy for chronic hepatitis B in Taiwan: Short-term versus long-term

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remains an important health issue in Taiwan. The major candidates for antiviral therapy are HBeAg-positive and -negative CHB patients, and individuals with compensated or decompensated cirrhosis. Lamivudine, adefovir dipivoxil, entecavir, telbivudine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) are the currently available nucleos(t)ide analogues (NA). Entecavir and TDF are recommended as the first-line agents for long-term use. The therapeutic endpoints recommended by the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver treatment guidelines have been adopted for clinical practice. Only a small number of patients qualify for short-term NA therapy; the majority of patients need long-term treatment. Current therapeutic endpoints confer off-therapy durability in approximately 50 % of patients. Patients with cirrhosis should receive long-term NA therapy. The use of serum HBsAg level as a guide for cessation of NA therapy requires further investigation. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.