Role of Nucleic Acid Polymers and Entry Inhibitors in Functional Cure Strategies for HBV
- PDF / 450,942 Bytes
- 12 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 86 Downloads / 156 Views
HEPATITIS B (JK LIM, SECTION EDITOR)
Role of Nucleic Acid Polymers and Entry Inhibitors in Functional Cure Strategies for HBV Sasan Sakiani 1 & Bilal Asif 1,2 & Alexander Yang 1,2 & Christopher Koh 3 Accepted: 16 October 2020 # This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply 2020
Abstract Purpose of Review Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the most common viral infections worldwide with an estimated 2 billion people exposed to HBV and 240 million with active chronic infection. Despite this, less than 1% of patients with chronic HBV infection receive treatment, and less than 3% of those achieve functional cure with traditional therapies. This review summarizes recent advances in the treatment of chronic HBV utilizing nucleic acid polymers (NAP) and entry inhibitors (EI). Recent Findings A recent phase 2 study evaluating the use of NAP following tenofovir and pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) demonstrated increased rates of functional cure which persisted in 35% of patients after 48 weeks of follow-up. In addition, the EI Myrcludex B has demonstrated HBsAg response in up to 40% of patients when used in combination with PEG-IFN at week 72. Summary Functional cure is considered the “holy grail” of treatment, and many new therapies are under investigation for the treatment of chronic HBV. As we work towards functional cure for chronic HBV, NAPs and EIs have shown efficacy in reducing HBV DNA and HBsAg levels and have emerged as potential therapeutic agents that may lead to a functional cure for HBV. Keywords Hepatitis B . Nucleic acid polymers . Entry inhibitors . Functional cure
Introduction Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection was initially identified in 1965 and today is one of the most common viral infections worldwide with an estimated 2 billion people exposed to HBV [1] and 240 million with active chronic infection [1]. Chronic HBV infection can lead to the development of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), contributing to 650,000 deaths annually [1]. HCC occurs in approximately 25% of patients with chronic hepatitis B, and unlike other chronic This article is part of the Topical Collection on Hepatitis B * Christopher Koh [email protected] 1
Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 22 S. Greene Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
2
Digestive Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, CRC 5-2740, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
3
Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, CRC 5-2740, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
liver diseases, 10–30% of cases can occur in the absence of cirrhosis [2, 3]. HBV infection can also be further complicated by hepatitis D (HDV) superinfection or coinfection, with an estimated 15–20 million people affected worldwide [4], which further increases progression to cirrhos
Data Loading...
