Antiviral therapy for hepatitis B and C in Asians.

The clinical features and treatment of chronic hepatitis C in Chinese patients are the same as in Caucasian patients except that 27% of Chinese chronic hepatitis C patients have hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 6a. In contrast, Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) differ from Caucasian patients because the Chinese patients are immunologically tolerant to hepatitis B virus (HBV), having acquired hepatitis B infection perinatally or in early childhood. In the treatment of CHB, the short-term aims of loss of hepatitis B virus early antigen (HBeAg) and HBV-DNA need to be reassessed. In 1296 Chinese CHB patients, 67.7% of those who developed complications of cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma, were HBeAg-antibody positive. Longer follow up of patients is, therefore, required to assess the time efficacy of a treatment regimen. After long-term follow up (median 90 months) of 206 Chinese CHB patients treated with interferon alpha (IFN alpha) compared with 203 untreated subjects, IFN alpha conferred no benefit in cumulative HBeAg seroconversion or in HBV-DNA negativity as determined by polymerase chain reaction assays or in decreasing long-term complications of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Lamivudine is a novel nucleoside analogue. In a recent 1 year study in 358 Chinese CHB patients, lamivudine treatment was associated with substantial histological improvement (including a reduction in fibrosis), with HBV-DNA suppression and normalization of alanine aminotransferase levels. However, lamivudine may have to be given on a long-term basis, as withdrawal of lamivudine results in rebound of HBV-DNA to pretreatment levels. The long-term effects of lamivudine are currently being assessed.