Efficacy of interferon-alpha 2b treatment in children with chronic hepatitis B who have previously undergone therapy for cancer

Küçük Resim Yok

Tarih

2000

Dergi Başlığı

Dergi ISSN

Cilt Başlığı

Yayıncı

Wiley

Erişim Hakkı

info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess

Özet

Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of treatment with recombinant interferon (IFN)-alpha 2b in 12 children with chronic hepatitis B who had previously undergone therapy for cancer. Methods: Nine children had acute leukemias and the other three children had solid tumors. The mean (+/-SD) age of the children was 8.4 +/- 3.8 years (range 4-16 years). All cases were hepatitis B virus (HBV)-DNA positive and 11 were hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive. One was anti-HBe positive (mutant strain). Four cases were anti-delta IgG positive. Liver biopsy revealed chronic hepatitis B in 11 patients and cirrhosis in one patient. Interferon-alpha 2b was given at a dose of 5 MU/m(2) three times a week, subcutaneously, for 12 months. Results: Elimination of serum HBV-DNA was obtained in three cases, but a further three patients demonstrated a marked decrease in HBV-DNA levels after therapy. Three of 11 patients seroconverted from HBeAg to anti-HBe. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels returned to normal in three of nine cases in whom the ALT levels were high before treatment. At the end of therapy, the mean histologic activity index score was significantly diminished (P = 0.0039). Conclusions: In conclusion, a 12 month course of IFN-alpha 2b induces some beneficial effects on virologic, biochemical and histologic indices in children with chronic hepatitis B who have previously undergone therapy for cancer.

Açıklama

Anahtar Kelimeler

cancer, chronic hepatitis B, interferon-alpha 2b

Kaynak

Pediatrics International

WoS Q Değeri

Q4

Scopus Q Değeri

Cilt

42

Sayı

6

Künye