— Christine M. Kukka, Project Manager, HBV Advocate
With powerful antivirals now available, more hepatitis B patients
are achieving very low viral loads and some can even stop treatment
after they achieve undetectable HBV DNA. But which of these patients
remain at risk of liver damage after treatment stops?
Korean researchers say that an ultrasound test
that measures liver stiffness can identify which patients who stop
treatment will develop liver disease (such as cirrhosis) even after
they clear HBV DNA.
The researchers followed 192 patients (average
age 49, 70% male) who achieved complete response (with viral loads less
than 20 international units per milliliter – IU/mL) after entecavir
treatment. They measured the patients’ liver stiffness using transient
elastography (Fibroscan.) The average measurement was 8.8 kPa, but over
time those who were older and had liver stiffness measurements of 13
kPa or higher tended to develop cirrhosis (liver scarring) and fibrosis
(inflammation).
The liver stiffness measurements were more
accurate in diagnosing which patients were still at risk of liver
damage than relying simply on viral load, researchers noted in their
study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
“Thus, in the era of potent antiviral therapy.
tailored surveillance strategies might be established based upon liver
stiffness values (after achieving) complete viral response,” they
concluded.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24957159
Labels: diagnostic tools, disease progression, fibroscan