Hepatitis B Reactivation During Treatment With Direct-Acting Antiviral Agents for Chronic Hepatitis C Infection

Reactivation of hepatitis B is well known to occur with immunosuppression as in the setting of high dose immunosuppressive therapy, cancer chemotherapy and bone marrow or stem cell transplantation. It is usually subclinical but at times can manifest as an acute hepatitis, hepatic decompensation and death. Often times this leads to interruption of cancer chemotherapy.

Recently, several case reports and case series have revealed evidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation in previously recovered persons being treated for chronic hepatitis C (CHC) with direct-acting antiviral (DAA) agents. Given the severity of some cases, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Black Box warning regarding the risk of HBV reactivation to HCV DAA labeling to screen all hepatitis C patients for HBV before initiation of therapy and to monitor those with previous HBV infection for signs of reactivation while on treatment. However, since the FDA warning, retrospective experiences on clinical trials have failed to reveal evidence of viral reactivation. Further, the frequency of HBV reactivation and its risk factors and monitoring frequency in HCV patients receiving Interferon-free DAA therapy are yet unknown. Hence, we aim to conduct a multicenter retrospective analysis to investigate these issues.