Treatment with nucleos(t)ide analogues in chronic hepatitis B: where does the road map lead us?

摘要

Despite the introduction of effective vaccination programs in a substantial number of countries, it is anticipated that in the coming decades many hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected patients will die from liver failure or hepatocellular carcinoma. Effective antiviral therapy may decrease the incidence of this HBV-related mortality, which is currently estimated around one million annually worldwide [1]. Permanent and complete suppression of viral replication is the main treatment goal of antiviral therapy with nucleos(t)ide analogues (NA) for chronic HBV infection [2-4].