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Tenofovir/entecavir recommended for HBV patients with malignancy
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CHICAGO — Spilios Manolakopoulos, MD, of the internal medicine and hepatology departments at Hippokratian Hospital in Athens, Greece, discusses results of a study presented at Digestive Disease Week 2014 among patients with hepatitis B virus who are receiving immunosuppression therapy for malignancy.
Manolakopoulos and colleagues observed that tenofovir and entecavir were effective as prophylaxis and rescue treatment for HBV reactivation. He emphasized that lamivudine should never be used in patients receiving rituximab-based chemotherapy.
During the study, “one case died, despite the rescue therapy with one of the new agents,” Manolakopoulos told Healio.com. “The patient died due to severe hepatitis and liver failure. So, according to our data, we believe that tenofovir and entecavir, the new, strong antiviral treatment, should be the first choice because they are effective agents. Lamivudine should not be the first choice.”