Exploration of nucleos(t)ide analogs cessation in chronic hepatitis B patients with hepatitis B e antigen loss

Table 1 Clinical characteristics of the included patients

	Total (n = 83)	Relapser (n = 38)	Non-relapser (n = 45)	P values2
Age at cessation (yr)	32.1 ± 9.5	33.5 ± 9.8	31.0 ± 9.3	0.232
Male, n (%)	56 (67.5)	24 (63.2)	32 (71.1)	0.441
HBsAg < 100 IU/mL, n (%)	19 (22.9)	1 (2.6)	18 (40.0)	< 0.001
Pretreatment HBV DNA (log10 copies/mL)1	7.17 (6.71-7.68)	7.29 (6.93-7.69)	7.00 (6.10-7.68)	0.123
Total treatment period (mo)1	49 (36-61)	50 (36-63)	49 (37-61)	0.876
Pretreatment ALT1	151 (115-287)	149 (118-256)	163 (112 -305)	0.721
Pretreatment AST1	103 (68-180)	105 (69 -181)	102 (68 -169)	0.927
HBV DNA negativity last time (mo)1	44 (33-58)	44 (33-60)	44 (34-57)	0.964
Time to HBeAg loss (mo)1	14 (6-31)	19 (9-33)	12 (6-30)	0.241
Consolidation periods (mo)1	28 (19-40)	23 (18-38)	30 (21-40)	0.102

¹median (IQR).

²t test, Mann-Whitney U test or χ² test. HBeAg: Hepatitis B e antigen; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; HBsAg: Hepatitis B surface antigen.

Table 2 Determination of factors related to virological relapse in patients with hepatitis B e antigen loss

	Univariate			Multivariate
	HR	95%CI	P values	HR	95%CI	P values
Age at cessation	1.021	0.987-1.056	0.235
Gender	0.783	0.405-1.515	0.468
Pretreatment ALT	0.999	0.998-1.001	0.451
Pretreatment AST	1.000	0.997-1.002	0.716
Pretreatment HBV DNA (log10 copies/mL)	1.391	0.942-2.054	0.097	1.256	0.816-1.933	0.300
Total treatment duration	1.001	0.989-1.013	0.826
HBV DNA negativity last time	1.001	0.988-1.013	0.915
Consolidation periods (≥ 24 mo vs < 24 mo)	0.469	0.247-0.891	0.021	0.506	0.262-0.978	0.043
HBsAg at cessation (≥ 100 IU/mL vs < 100 IU/mL)	15.515	2.119-113.575	0.007	14.869	2.027-109.084	0.008

HR: Hazard ratio; HBeAg: Hepatitis B e antigen; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HBsAg: Hepatitis B surface antigen.

Table 3 Comparison of baseline clinical characteristics in the propensity score matching cohort

	HBeAg loss (n = 72)	HBeAg seroconversion (n = 72)	P values2
Age at cessation (yr)	31.8 ± 10.0	31.5 ± 11.8	0.873
Male, n (%)	49 (68.1)	48 (66.7)	0.859
Functional cure, n (%)	15 (20.8)	8 (11.1)	0.111
Pretreatment HBV DNA (log10 copies/mL)1	7.14 (6.70-7.65)	7.00 (6.67-7.67)	0.781
Pretreatment ALT1	151 (114-287)	200 (117-301)	0.394
Pretreatment AST1	102 (69 -188)	122 (72 -204)	0.327
Consolidation periods (mo)1	28 (21-40)	23 (15-37)	0.065
Time to HBeAg loss/conversion1	12 (6-25)	15 (7-27)	0.566

¹median (IQR).

²t test, Mann-Whitney U test or χ² test. HBeAg: Hepatitis B e antigen; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase.