Abstract
The natural history of infection in patients with active HBV viral replication (HBsAg, HBeAg and HBV DNA positive) tends to be progressive, with development of long-term complications such as portal hypertension and hepatic decompensation. As well, the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increased 10 to 390-fold in patients with chronic HBV infection,1 and in regions where HBV is endemic, HCC is the leading cause of cancer related deaths. Evolving therapies, discussed in this chapter, may be changing the natural history of HBV infection and even reducing the risk of HCC development.KeywordsChronic HepatitisHBeAg SeroconversionAdefovir DipivoxilInterferon AlfaSerum Aminotransferase LevelThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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