Battistella, SaraLeonel Couto, ThaisPocurull Aparicio, AnnaRodríguez Tajes, SergioSàez Palma, MariaRando-Segura, AriadnaMariño Mendez, ZoeTabernero, DavidHurtado, Juan CarlosCortese, Maria FrancescaPérez Del Pulgar Gallart, SofíaLens García, SabelaForns Bernhardt, Xavier2026-02-272026-02-272025-04-21Battistella, Sara; Leonel, Thais; Pocurull, Anna; Rodriguez-Tajes, Sergio; Saez-Palma, Maria; Rando-Segura, Ariadna; Marino, Zoe; Tabernero, David; Hu (2025). HBcrAg and cirB-RNA Do Not Predict Clinical and Virological Outcomes in Patients With HBeAg-Negative Chronic Infection. Liver International, 45(5), e70072-. DOI: 10.1111/liv.70072https://hdl.handle.net/2445/227670Background & Aims: Predicting clinical and virological outcomes in HBeAg-negative (HBeAg-neg) chronic infection often requires long-term monitoring. Our study explored whether a single measurement of quantitative HBsAg (qHBsAg), HBV core-related antigen (HBcrAg), and circulating HBV RNA (cirB-RNA) can define the natural course of untreated HBeAg-neg chronic infection patients. Methods: To this aim, we included 128 na & iuml;ve HBeAg-neg chronic infection patients, stratified according to qHBsAg levels in: (1) 10-1000 IU/mL, (2) 1000-10 000 IU/mL, and (3) > 10 000 IU/mL. Results: HBcrAg and cirB-RNA were detected in 27% and 19% of patients with qHBsAg > 1000 IU/mL but rarely detected in patients with qHBsAg < 1000 IU/mL. After a median follow-up of 5.1 years, 9.4% of patients lost HBsAg, and 8.5% experienced an increase in HBV DNA > 2000 IU/mL. qHBsAg < 1000 IU/mL was the only factor independently associated with functional cure. Conclusions: In untreated HBeAg-neg chronic infection patients, single-point cirB-RNA and HBcrAg do not offer additional predictive value over qHBsAg < 1000 IU/mL for spontaneous HBsAg loss.7application/pdfenghttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Astronomia / físicaBiotecnologíaCiência de alimentosCiências biológicas iCiências biológicas iiCiências biológicas iiiEngenharias ivFarmaciaGastroenterology & hepatologyGeneral medicineHepatologyInterdisciplinarMedicina iMedicina iiMedicina iiiMedicina veterinariaNutriçãoSaúde coletivaarticle2026-02-26info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess9465339