{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T06:11:47Z","timestamp":1779343907231,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779321600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>During interferon (IFN) treatment patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), HBsAg levels often declines to a plateau. This study investigated the HBsAg loss rate in patients receiving continuous IFN treatment after reaching a plateau compared with patients who suspended IFN treatment for 3\u20136 months.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Patients were enrolled from an observational cohort of CHB patients receiving PEG-IFN-\u03b1-based therapy. All patients reached a plateau in qHBsAg decline after 24 weeks of PEG-IFN-\u03b1 treatment. Patients in the continuous-treatment group received continuous PEG-IFN therapy, while patients in the intermittent-treatment group discontinued initial PEG-IFN therapy for 3\u20136 months before resuming treatment.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In this retrospective study, 403 CHB patients with a plateau in HBsAg decline after 24 weeks of pegylated IFN-\u03b1 (PEG-IFN-\u03b1) treatment were included. After reaching the plateau, patients either continued PEG-IFN treatment or restarted treatment after an interval. The HBsAg loss rate in the intermittent-treatment group was significantly higher than that in the continuous-treatment group (p\u00a0=\u00a00.001); in the 278-case propensity score matching (PSM) population, HBsAg loss rates were 21.58% and 8.63%, respectively (p\u00a0=\u00a00.002). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that intermittent therapy (p\u00a0=\u00a00.017) and HBsAg level at the second plateau time point (p\u00a0&amp;lt;\u00a00.001) were independent factors of HBsAg loss. Multivariate Cox regression analysis of the PSM-matched population showed that baseline HBsAg level (p\u00a0=\u00a00.043), HBsAg level at the second plateau time point (p\u00a0=\u00a00.000), and intermittent therapy (p\u00a0=\u00a00.004) were independent factors of HBsAg loss.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Among CHB patients receiving PEG-IFN-based treatment, intermittent treatment was more beneficial than continuous treatment in achieving HBsAg loss once HBsAg decline reached a plateau.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2026.1778016","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T05:46:37Z","timestamp":1779342397000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["HBsAg loss in chronic hepatitis B patients with an HBsAg decline plateau can be enhanced by intermittent PEG-IFN treatment"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Weihua","family":"Cao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Hepatology Division 2, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University","place":["Beijing, China"]},{"name":"HBV Infection, Clinical Cure and Immunology Joint Laboratory for Clinical Medicine, Capital Medical University","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Si","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Hepatology, Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Center, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua University","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hongxiao","family":"Hao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Hepatology Division 2, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical 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