The effect of long-term entecavir therapy on liver histopathology in patients with chronic viral hepatitis B


KÖSE Ş., Tatar B., GÜL SEVER S., Pala E.

Acta Clinica Belgica: International Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Medicine, vol.71, no.4, pp.244-249, 2016 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate histopathological improvement and virological, biological and serological response rates in patients receiving long-term entecavir therapy who were followed with the diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Materials and Methods: Ninety-eight nucleoside(t)e-naive CHB patients who were receiving 0.5 mg/day entecavir (ETV) were included in the study. Virological, serological and biochemical test results were assessed baseline and every 12-week intervals. Liver biopsy specimens were assessed according to the modified Ishak scoring. Results: Forty-six CHB patients receiving ETV treatment underwent liver biopsy. The mean age of the patients was 44 ± 12.9, 26.1% of them were female. The mean duration of follow-up was 44.9 ± 10.8 months. All patients had hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype D infection. Of 21 patients who were HBeAg positive at baseline, HBeAg loss occurred in 9 and seroconversion occurred in 5. HBsAg loss occurred in none of the patients. Serum HBV DNA levels became undetectable in 93.5% patients. Of the patients, 50% achieved ≥ 2 point improvement in HAI scores and 30.4% achieved ≥ 1 point improvement in fibrosis scores with treatment. The mean improvement in HAI and fibrosis score were 1.94 ± 1.93 and 0.11 ± 0.9 points, respectively. Conclusion: ETV is an effective treatment in histological improvement and virological response in CHB patients. Large-scale, long-term studies are still warranted to evaluate the long-term outcomes of entecavir therapy.