STUDY ON CHANGES IN SERUM HBV RNA LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEPATITIS B TREATED WITH TENOFOVIR DISOPROXIL FUMARATE

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the changes in serum HBV RNA levels in treatment-naïve chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients who were treated with Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate (TDF). Methods: 77 treatment-naïve CHB patients were treated with long-term TDF monotherapy at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Military Hospital 103, Vietnam Military Medical University from 2017 to 2020. Samples were collected at several time points: At the baseline, after 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of TDF treatment. Serum HBV DNA and HBV RNA levels were quantified by the Real Time RT-PCR method. Statistical analyses were performed with Medcalc 20.019. Results: Serum HBV RNA levels tended to decrease during the TDF treatment in a biphasic pattern. In the first phase, from baseline to 3 months of treatment, HBV RNA levels decreased rapidly (the median slope of the decrease was 0.38 log copies/mL/month). In the second phase, from 3 - 12 months of treatment, serum HBV RNA levels decreased more slowly than in the first phase (the median slope of the decrease was 0.09 log copies/mL/month; p < 0.05). Serum HBV RNA levels decreased more slowly than serum HBV DNA levels in the first phase, but there was no significant difference in the second phase (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Serum HBV RNA levels decreased in a biphasic pattern with a different slope during TDF treatment. Serum HBV RNA levels decreased more slowly than HBV DNA and may complement this marker in the assessment of treatment outcomes and prognosis for chronic hepatitis B.