Clinical trial: effects of adefovir dipivoxil therapy in Asian and Caucasian patients with chronic hepatitis B

Summary Background Two‐thirds of the 350 million people infected with chronic hepatitis B virus live in the Asia‐Pacific region. Aim To compare the effects of adefovir dipivoxil therapy between Asian and Caucasian patients with chronic hepatitis B. Methods The safety and efficacy of 10 mg of adefovir dipivoxil was compared to placebo in 501 Asian (n = 259) or Caucasian (n = 242) HBeAg+ and HBeAg− chronic hepatitis B virus patients treated for 48 weeks in two randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled studies. Results At week 48, histological improvement was observed in 60% and 56% of Caucasian and Asian patients, respectively. Change in serum hepatitis B virus DNA from baseline to week 48 for the adefovir dipivoxil‐treated patients was −3.89 and −3.70 log10 copies/mL in Caucasian and Asian patients, respectively, while 34 per cent of Caucasian patients and 39 per cent of Asian patients had undetectable serum hepatitis B virus DNA (