Early serum HBsAg drop: A strong predictor of sustained virological response to pegylated interferon alfa‐2a in HBeAg‐negative patients

Pegylated interferon alfa‐2a (PEG‐IFN) may induce sustained virological response (SVR) in 20% of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. In addition, loss of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is achieved with a 10% yearly rate after treatment cessation in sustained responders. The aim of this study was to assess on‐treatment serum HBsAg kinetics to predict SVR in HBeAg‐negative patients treated with PEG‐IFN. Forty‐eight consecutive patients were treated with PEG‐IFN (180 μg/week) for 48 weeks. Serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA (COBAS TaqMan) and HBsAg (Abbott Architect HBsAg QT assay) were assessed at baseline, during treatment (weeks 12, 24, and 48), and during follow‐up (weeks 72 and 96). SVR was defined as undetectable serum HBV DNA (