Tsai CY, Huang CS. Predictive model to identify patients requiring extended interferon therapy in chronic hepatitis B. World J Gastroenterol 2026; 32(37): 119736 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.119736]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ching-Shan Huang, Professor, Department of Clinical Pathology, Cathay General Hospital, No. 280, Sec 4, Ren Ai Road, Taipei 10630, Taiwan. ching.shan.h@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
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editorial
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Tsai CY, Huang CS. Predictive model to identify patients requiring extended interferon therapy in chronic hepatitis B. World J Gastroenterol 2026; 32(37): 119736 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.119736]
World J Gastroenterol. Oct 7, 2026; 32(37): 119736 Published online Oct 7, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.119736
Predictive model to identify patients requiring extended interferon therapy in chronic hepatitis B
Cheng-Yuan Tsai, Ching-Shan Huang
Cheng-Yuan Tsai, Ching-Shan Huang, Department of Clinical Pathology, Cathay General Hospital, Taipei 10630, Taiwan
Author contributions: Tsai CY contributed to data collection and formal analysis; Huang CS contributed to the study conception and design, read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Ching-Shan Huang, Professor, Department of Clinical Pathology, Cathay General Hospital, No. 280, Sec 4, Ren Ai Road, Taipei 10630, Taiwan. ching.shan.h@gmail.com
Received: February 4, 2026 Revised: April 18, 2026 Accepted: June 12, 2026 Published online: October 7, 2026 Processing time: 209 Days and 7.6 Hours
Abstract
A contemporary study by Yan et al, published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology, demonstrates that baseline hepatitis B surface antigen and cirrhosis can be utilized in a prediction model to identify populations that may benefit from extended (≥ 48 weeks) interferon therapy. In this editorial, we summarize strengths of their study. First, the follow-up period was sufficiently long; second, the authors identified all major confounding factors; third, appropriate statistical methods were employed; fourth, the figures and tables are highly legible; and fifth, the training cohort exhibited stable discriminatory ability. The limitations of the study are as follows: First, the sample size in certain subgroups was too small; second, nearly all similar studies have been conducted in China, leaving readers with a limited understanding of global trends in this field; and third, the benefits of adding PEGylated interferon α-2b to nucleos(t)ide analog therapy were not addressed. Future research should investigate the promising role of combination therapies involving PEGylated interferon α-2b and nucleos(t)ide analogs, incorporate machine learning approaches, and consider the effects of concurrent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Core Tip: Yan et al published a study in the World Journal of Gastroenterology regarding interferon therapy for chronic hepatitis B clearance that warrants broad attention. In this editorial, we review their work and contextualize their findings within the scope of similar English-language publications in PubMed. A novel finding of their study is that stable discriminatory ability was noted for both the training cohort (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.83) and the validation cohort (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.81), with predictive efficacy unaffected by subgroup characteristics. We also discuss the limitations of their study and address its potential clinical implications.
