Contrasting Timing of Virological Relapse After Discontinuation of Tenofovir or Entecavir in Hepatitis B e Antigen-Negative Patients

Stopping long-term nucleos(t)ide analogue therapy increases hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg) loss rates in HBV e antigen (HBeAg)-negative patients. Viral rebound may induce immune responses facilitating functional cure. We analyzed which factors are associated with timing of virological relapse in 220 Asian HBeAg-negative patients from the prospective ABX203 vaccine study. Unexpectedly, only the type of antiviral therapy was significantly associated with early virological relapse, defined as an HBV DNA load of >2000 IU/mL until week 12, and relapse occurred earlier in patients treated with tenofovir versus those treated with entecavir (median time, 6 vs 24 weeks; P < .0001). This should be considered for future trials and monitoring of patients after treatment discontinuation.