HBsAg decline and clearance with peg-IFN therapy added to nucleos(t)ide analogues: an individual participant data meta-analysis of prospective trials (PROSPER).

Adding peg-IFN to nucleos(t)ide analogue therapy achieves HBsAg loss in up to 38% of chronic hepatitis B patients with low initial HBsAg levels.

• Why it matters: Effective strategies for curing hepatitis B remain limited, especially in reducing HBsAg levels, which are linked to treatment success and disease resolution.
• What they did: Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of individual data from eight clinical trials involving 581 patients receiving peg-IFN add-on therapy, focusing on HBsAg decline and clearance over 6-12 months.
• The result: They found that peg-IFN resulted in HBsAg loss in 8.6% overall, with higher success rates (up to 38%) in patients with initial HBsAg below 100 IU/mL, enabling targeted treatment approaches.