Pegylated interferon α-2b add-on to nucleos(t)ide analogues reduces hepatocellular carcinoma and decompensation in advanced fibrotic chronic hepatitis B

doi:10.3748/wjg.121641

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World Journal of Gastroenterology

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1007-9327

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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA

Retrospective Cohort Study

Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.

World J Gastroenterol. Dec 7, 2026; 32(45): 121641
Published online Dec 7, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.121641

Table 1 Baseline characteristics after propensity score matching, median (interquartile range)

Characteristics	NA group (n = 302)	Peg-IFNα-2b + NA group (n = 302)	χ²	P value	SMD
Age (years)	46 (39, 54)	46 (40, 51)	-	0.565	0.089
Sex (male)	265	266	0.016	0.901	-0.010
Family history of HCC	23	22	0.024	0.887	0.013
Diabetes mellitus	1	1	0.000	> 0.999	0.000
AFP ≥ 10 ng/mL	20	21	0.026	0.871	-0.013
Alcohol use history	11	10	0.049	0.824	0.018
Radiographic cirrhosis	173	174	0.007	0.934	-0.007

AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; NA: Nucleos(t)ide analogue; Peg-IFNα-2b: Pegylated interferon α-2b; SMD: Standardized mean differences.

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Table 2 Comparison of efficacy measures between the nucleos(t)ide analogue monotherapy vs pegylated interferon α-2b and nucleos(t)ide analogue combination therapy: Early biochemical normalization rates, n (%)

Group	Total	Early biochemical normalization	Non-early biochemical normalization	χ²	P value
NA	198	90 (45.5)	108 (54.5)	0.724	0.395
Peg-IFNα-2b + NA	180	74 (41.1)	106 (58.9)	0.724	0.395

NA: Nucleos(t)ide analogue; Peg-IFNα-2b: Pegylated interferon α-2b.

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Table 3 Comparison of efficacy measures between the nucleos(t)ide analogue monotherapy vs pegylated interferon α-2b and nucleos(t)ide analogue combination therapy: Overall biochemical normalization rates, n (%)

Group	Total	Biochemical normalization	Non-biochemical normalization	χ²	P value
NA	198	157 (79.3)	41 (20.7)	0.029	0.865
Peg-IFNα-2b + NA	180	144 (80.0)	36 (20.0)	0.029	0.865

NA: Nucleos(t)ide analogue; Peg-IFNα-2b: Pegylated interferon α-2b.

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Table 4 Comparison of Efficacy measures between the nucleos(t)ide analogue monotherapy vs pegylated interferon α-2b and nucleos(t)ide analogue combination therapy: Maintained virological response rates, n (%)

Group	Total	MVR	Non-MVR	χ²	P value
NA	302	251 (83.1)	51 (16.9)	41.647	< 0.001
Peg-IFNα-2b + NA	302	297 (98.3)	5 (1.7)	41.647	< 0.001

NA: Nucleos(t)ide analogue; Peg-IFNα-2b: Pegylated interferon α-2b; MVR: Maintained virological response.

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Table 5 Comparison of efficacy measures between the nucleos(t)ide analogue monotherapy vs pegylated interferon α-2b and nucleos(t)ide analogue combination therapy: Hepatitis b surface antigen clearance rates, n (%)

Group	Total	HBsAg clearance	Non-HBsAg clearance	χ²	P value
NA	302	2 (0.71)	300 (99.29)	50.842	< 0.001
Peg-IFNα-2b + NA	302	52 (19.19)	250 (81.81)	50.842	< 0.001

HBsAg: Hepatitis B surface antigen; NA: Nucleos(t)ide analogue; Peg-IFNα-2b: Pegylated interferon α-2b.

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Citation: Li XY, Huang JT, Liu T, Li YY, Zhe L, Cao H, Lin BL. Pegylated interferon α-2b add-on to nucleos(t)ide analogues reduces hepatocellular carcinoma and decompensation in advanced fibrotic chronic hepatitis B. World J Gastroenterol 2026; 32(45): 121641
URL: https://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/full/v32/i45/121641.htm
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.3748/wjg.121641

Li XY, Huang JT, Liu T, Li YY, Zhe L, Cao H, Lin BL. Pegylated interferon α-2b add-on to nucleos(t)ide analogues reduces hepatocellular carcinoma and decompensation in advanced fibrotic chronic hepatitis B. World J Gastroenterol 2026; 32(45): 121641 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.121641]

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