{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]],"date-time":"2026-04-10T17:22:16Z","timestamp":1775841736270,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,4]],"date-time":"2023-12-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1701648000000},"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. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>Interferon therapy, used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB), is one of the means by which patients can achieve a functional cure. Pegylated interferon is currently used in the treatment of CHB. There are two main types of pegylated interferon: \u03b1-2b and \u03b1-2a.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study explored the efficacy, safety, and predictors of treatment response for \u03b1-2b plus entecavir among children in a real-world setting.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>The study included 76 patients aged 3\u201318 years, all of whom were treated with interferon \u03b1-2b plus entecavir. The mean duration of treatment was 401.99 days, and 31.6% (24\/76) of patients achieved HBsAg clearance. Competing risk model analyses showed that children with baseline HBsAg &amp;lt;1500 IU\/mL (subdistribution hazard ratio [sHR]=2.643, P=0.022) and a higher baseline alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level (sHR=1.005, P=0.000) had a higher probability of achieving HBsAg clearance during treatment. Conversely, children with a higher hepatitis B virus loading level (sHR=0.835, P=0.043) and age \u226510 years (sHR=0.243, P=0.002) had a lower probability of achieving HBsAg clearance during treatment. A decrease of &amp;gt;1 log<jats:sub>10<\/jats:sub> in HBsAg level (sHR=3.479, P=0.001) at 12 weeks of treatment was associated with a higher probability of achieving surface antigen clearance.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title><jats:p>These results indicated that interferon plus entecavir therapy is a promising means of achieving HBsAg clearance in children with CHB. Moreover, HBsAg, ALT, virus loading, and age are indicators of treatment success probability.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2023.1282922","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,4]],"date-time":"2023-12-04T06:50:45Z","timestamp":1701672645000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Efficacy of pegylated interferon \u03b1-2b plus entecavir therapy and predictors of treatment success in children with chronic hepatitis 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