Entecavir Plus Pegylated Interferon and Sequential Hepatitis B Virus Vaccination Increases Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Seroclearance: A Randomized Controlled Proof-of-Concept Study

Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroclearance is considered a functional cure for patients with chronic hepatitis B, but is rarely achievable with oral nucleos(t)ide analogues alone. We conducted a randomized controlled proof-of-concept trial to evaluate the impact of adding pegylated interferon (peg-IFN) alfa-2a plus sequential or concomitant hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination.A total of 111 patients who achieved serum HBV DNA <20 IU/mL...