Serum decoy receptor 3 is a useful predictor for the active status of chronic hepatitis B in hepatitis B e antigen-negative patients.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a global public health problem, because patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) may progress to liver cirrhosis and eventually evolve into hepatocellular carcinoma. Decoy receptor 3 (DcR3) is a soluble receptor of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, and has been implicated in anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory pathways. In this study, we explored the clinical value of serum DcR3 in predicting the active status of CHB in hepatitis B e antigen-negative patients (active HBeAg (-) CHB), which was determined with ELISA. The serum level of DcR3 in active HBeAg (-) CHB patients (1.92 ± 0.68 ng/ml) was higher than that in healthy controls (0.80 ± 0.25 ng/ml, p < 0.0001) and that in inactive status of HBeAg (-) CHB (inactive hepatitis B surface antigen carrier, HBsAg-IaC) patients (0.95 ± 0.26 ng/ml, p < 0.0001). DcR3 level was correlated with HBV DNA level (r = 0.819, p < 0.0001) and alanine transaminase level (ALT, r = 0.704, p < 0.0001) in active HBeAg (-) CHB patients. The area under the Receiver Operating Characteristics curve of DcR3 for detecting the active status of HBeAg (-) CHB patients was 0.914 (95% confidence interval, 0.851-0.977). The optimal cut-off value for DcR3 to predict active HBeAg (-) CHB was 1.22 ng/ml, which had a sensitivity of 87.5% and a specificity of 84.4%. These results suggest that serum DcR3 level may be useful for detecting HBeAg (-) CHB in the active stage, which requires medical treatment.