To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Seroclearance of Hepatitis B s Antigen Helps Prevent Liver Cancer: Presented at AASLD URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/216D42.htm Doctor's Guide November 7, 2007
By Maria Bishop BOSTON, MA -- November 7, 2007 -- The rare occurrence of seroclearance of hepatitis B s antigen (HBsAg) in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) does not signify eradication of HBV, researchers reported here at the 58th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD). It is, however, associated with a very low viremic phase with minimal replications or transcriptional activities, resulting in improvement of liver histology and biochemistry. Danny Ka-Ho Wong, PhD, Post-doctoral Fellow, Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, China, and colleagues from the University of Hong Kong undertook a large-scale longitudinal study of the seroclearance of HBsAg in 298 patients with HBV, including examining the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Subjects were followed up every 3 to 6 months. In 51.7% of patients, antibody response (anti-HBs) was detectable some time after HbsAg seroclearance to the time of last follow-up. The duration of follow-up averaged 108.9 months (range: 6.2 months to 319.8 months). In 11.4% of patients, anti-HBs were developed at the time of HBsAg seroclearance, and in 16.8%, anti-HBs were developed within 12 months of HBsAg seroclearance. The majority of the 265 patients who had serum HBV deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) measurements taken demonstrated persistently undetectable serum HBV DNA levels during follow-up. There was also an increasing proportion of patients who developed undetectable serum HBV DNA levels with extended follow-up. In these 265 patients, serum HBV DNA levels were monitored by the Artus HBV Rotor-Gene Test. Dr. Wong noted that patients who had HBsAg seroclearance at the age of 50 or greater were at a higher risk for the subsequent development of HCC compared to patients who had HBsAg seroclearance before the age of 50. The average patient age on presentation in this study was 43.1. The median time duration between ABsAg seroclearance and HCC development was 43.5 months. [Presentation title: Large Scale Longitudinal Study of Chronic Hepatitis B Patients with Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Seroclearance. Abstract 900] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.