HBV Genotype E Has the Worst Response to Pegylated Interferon

Certain HBV genotypes (including A and B) appear to be more responsive to weekly injections with pegylated interferon than others. Researchers studied how effectively the drug, which spurs the immune system to fight infection, worked in 63 patients with this genotype, which is most prevalent in West and Central Africa.

Forty-one had low viral load and were treated with only interferon, 10 had high viral load and were treated sequentially with interferon and the antiviral entecavir, and 12 genotype E patients with inactive infection were followed as the control group.

Only 17.9% of those treated solely with  interferon responded to treatment, with only one patient losing HBsAg. All patients with high viral load showed no response at all to interferon. "The HBV E genotype evidences the worse response to pegylated interferon and maybe requires novel treatment options," researchers wrote.

Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24631900