Peginterferon Treatment Study for Inactive Chronic Hepatitis B Patients

Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phasePhase 4
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age18-60
SponsorThird Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University

About this trial

There are about 400 million chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection patients worldwide, posing a serious threat to global public health security. In China, HBV infection occured mainly in the perinatal period or infants, and about 10% of patients in the immune tolerance stage spontaneously transit to the immune clearance stage every year and become HBeAg-negative chronic HBV infection, resulting in a significant increase in the number of inactive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients.

In recent years, different guidelines have not reached consensus on the need to initiate antiviral therapy for inactive CHB patients: In the guidelines of Asian Pacific Association for The Study of Liver(APASL)-2015 and American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases(AASLD)-2018, antiviral therapy is generally not recommended for this group of patients, and regular outpatient follow-up is recommended. Guideline of European Association for the Study of the Liver(EASL)-2017 suggests that people with a family history of cirrhosis and liver cancer at this stage could be treated with antiviral therapy even if they did not meet the indications of antiviral therapy. According to Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B (version 2019) of China, antiviral therapy is still recommended for some patients with inactive HBsAg carrier status who are HBV DNA positive and meet the treatment indications. Studies have shown that some patients in immune tolerance stage may enter the immune clearance stage and have hepatitis flare. Patients of inactive CHB have the potential to develop HBeAg-negative CHB, and studies of long-term follow-up in this population have indicated the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. With the popularization of the concept of functional cure for chronic hepatitis B, more and more people with inactive CHB have a strong desire for treatment. In recent years, several studies have demonstrated that Pegylated-interferon therapy can achieve high functional cure rate in patients with inactive CHB.

The purpose of this study is to establish a national multi-center, prospective real world study to compare the efficacy of different antiviral treatment regimens for patients with inactive CHB and seek for the factors of functional cure.

Eligibility criteria

This trial does not accept healthy volunteers

Qualifiers

Age 18-60, no gender limitation

HBsAg is positive for more than 6 months

Hepatitis B e antigen(HBeAg) is negative and anti-HBe is positive

Serum HBV DNA is less than 2000 IU/mL

Disqualifiers

Allergic to pegylated interferon α-2b

Any indication of liver cirrhosis

Coinfection with hepatitis A virus(HAV), hepatitis C virus(HCV), hepatitis D virus(HDV), hepatitis E virus(HEV) or human immunodeficiency virus(HIV)

Combined with other liver diseases (including drug-related, alcoholic, autoimmune, genetic metabolic liver diseases, etc.)

Trial design

Design model

Parallel

Treatments tested in this trial

  • Peginterferon Alfa-2B

    Drug

    Different usage of peginterferon Alfa-2B and/or Nucleos(t)ide analogs in arm/group descriptions are depended on the wishes of the patient and the advice of the attending doctor.

  • Nucleoside Analogs

    Drug

    Nucleos(t)ide analogs refer to one of the first-line drugs, including ETV, TDF and TAF.

Treatment groups

5,000 Participants
are divided into 5 treatment groups
Group A: Sequential Combination GroupExperimental treatment 2 interventions
Group B: Initial Combination GroupExperimental treatment 2 interventions
Group C: Whole-course Combination GroupExperimental treatment 2 interventions
Group D: Peginterferon Monotherapy GroupExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Group E: NAs Monotherapy GroupExperimental treatment 1 intervention

Trial outcomes

Primary outcomes

1

HBsAg clearance rate

HBsAg is detected by Roche or Abbott productions, of which the lower limit is 0.05 IU/ml

Time frame
From date of the beginning of treatment until the date of the end of treatment, assessed up to 96 weeks

Secondary outcomes

1

HBsAg serological conversion rate

HBsAg is detected by Roche or Abbott productions, of which the lower limit is 0.05 IU/ml

Time frame
From date of the beginning of treatment until the date of the end of treatment, assessed up to 96 weeks
2

The magnitude of HBsAg decline from baseline

HBsAg is detected by quantitative assays from Roche or Abbott

Time frame
through treatment completion, an anticipated period of 96 weeks
3

The magnitude of HBV-DNA decline from baseline and the undetectable rate

HBV-DNA is detected by assays from Roche or Abbott, of which the lower limit is 15 or 10 IU/ml.

Time frame
through treatment completion, an anticipated period of 96 weeks
4

HBsAg clearance rate, HBsAg serological conversion rate and maintenance response rate of HBsAg clearance

HBsAg is detected by Roche or Abbott productions, of which the lower limit is 0.05 IU/ml

Time frame
through follow-up completion, an anticipated period of 144 weeks

Other outcomes

Sponsors and contacts

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