Antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis B.

The goal of antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis B is to prevent the development of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. End points, including viral suppression, alanine aminotransferase normalization, hepatitis B e antigen loss, hepatitis B surface antigen loss, and improvement in liver histology, are used to determine treatment success. Treatment is based on hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication status and stage of liver disease, modulated by the age of the patient, hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) status and patient preference. Seven therapies are approved, including two formulations of interferon and five orally administered nucleos(t)ide analogs. These therapies are effective in suppressing HBV replication and have also been shown to prevent disease progression.