Amalou K, Rekab R, Benmellouka N, Derbal B, Belloula A, Chetroub H, Sabrina F, Belghanem F, Saidani K. Discontinuation of nucleos(t)ide analog therapy in hepatitis B e antigen-negative non-cirrhotic chronic hepatitis B patients: A real-life study. World J Virol 2026; 15(3): 120124 [DOI: 10.5501/wjv.120124]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Khellaf Amalou, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Mohamed Seghir Nekkache, No. 246 Kouba, Algiers 16000, Algeria. amalou_kh@yahoo.fr
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
research-article
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Amalou K, Rekab R, Benmellouka N, Derbal B, Belloula A, Chetroub H, Sabrina F, Belghanem F, Saidani K. Discontinuation of nucleos(t)ide analog therapy in hepatitis B e antigen-negative non-cirrhotic chronic hepatitis B patients: A real-life study. World J Virol 2026; 15(3): 120124 [DOI: 10.5501/wjv.120124]
Khellaf Amalou, Ryma Rekab, Nada Benmellouka, Boutheina Derbal, Ahlem Belloula, Hana Chetroub, Fadel Sabrina, Farid Belghanem, Khadidja Saidani, Department of Gastroenterology, Mohamed Seghir Nekkache, Algiers 16000, Algeria
Author contributions: Amalou K contributed to take responsibility in necessary literature review for the study and review it before submission scientifically besides spelling and grammar; Amalou K, Benmellouka N, Derbal B, Chetroub H, Sabrina F, and Belghanem F contributed to wrote the manuscript; Rekab R, Belloula A, and Saidani K contributed to review the article before submission; Benmellouka N, Derbal B, Chetroub H, Sabrina F, and Belghanem F contributed to analyzed the data; and all authors have and approve the final manuscript.
AI contribution statement: No use of artificial intelligence.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Mohamed Seghir Nekkache.
Clinical trial registration statement: This study has completed clinical trial registration.
Informed consent statement: This study has obtained the written informed consent from the participants.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 statement.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: Khellaf Amalou, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Mohamed Seghir Nekkache, No. 246 Kouba, Algiers 16000, Algeria. amalou_kh@yahoo.fr
Received: March 4, 2026 Revised: June 2, 2026 Accepted: July 3, 2026 Published online: September 25, 2026 Processing time: 215 Days and 6.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Prolonged therapy remains the recommended method for patients with chronic hepatitis B. Nonetheless, concerns about treatment adherence and economic strain, particularly in resource-constrained areas, combined with research indicating that virological and clinical remission persists in non-cirrhotic patients after treatment cessation, prompted the development of nucleos(t)ide analog cessation guidelines for specific patients. However, the discontinuation of nucleos(t)ide analog is still a contested question. The median duration until recurrence was 11 months. The cumulative virological relapse rates, defined as chronic hepatitis B deoxyribonucleic acid over 2000 IU/mL, were 25%, 52%, 58%, and 61% at 6 months, 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months, respectively. The cumulative retreatment rates at 6 months, 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months were 19%, 25%, 28%, and 35%, respectively. Histologic fibrosis score > 2 is the unique factor for retreatment.
