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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Sep 27, 2025; 17(9): 109340
Published online Sep 27, 2025. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i9.109340
Published online Sep 27, 2025. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i9.109340
Functional cure in an occult hepatitis B virus infection patient on sequential therapy: A case report
Lin Wang, Han Liang, Chen Wang, Meng-Yu Liang, Qing-Lei Zeng, Jun Lv, Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, Henan Province, China
Peng-Fei Zhu, Department of Clinical Laboratory and Key Clinical Laboratory of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, Henan Province, China
Author contributions: Wang L reviewed the literature and contributed to the drafting of the manuscript; Wang L, Liang H, Wang C, Liang MY, Zeng QL, Zhu PF, and Lv J contributed to the final version of the article; Lv J provided case information and reviewed and revised the article; and all authors thoroughly reviewed and endorsed the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed verbal consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jun Lv, Associate Chief Physician, Associate Professor, Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, No. 1 Jianshe East Road, Zhengzhou 450052, Henan Province, China. fcclvj@zzu.edu.cn
Received: May 8, 2025
Revised: June 21, 2025
Accepted: September 2, 2025
Published online: September 27, 2025
Processing time: 140 Days and 22.6 Hours
Revised: June 21, 2025
Accepted: September 2, 2025
Published online: September 27, 2025
Processing time: 140 Days and 22.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This case illustrates the emergence of occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) as a distinct transitional phase during sequential combination therapy for chronic hepatitis B. Unlike previously reported cases where OBI develops in individuals with resolved infection, this case suggests that antiviral therapy itself may induce an OBI-like state before achieving functional cure. As OBI has been associated with potential reactivation risks. Understanding the mechanisms behind treatment-induced OBI will be crucial in refining therapeutic strategies and improving long-term hepatitis B virus management.