Application value of serum HBV RNA in clinical management of chronic hepatitis B / 临床肝胆病杂志

ABSTRACT

Viral hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection still threaten the health of people in China. Efficient antiviral therapy can significantly prevent the progression of liver diseases and reduce the incidence rate of end-stage liver disease, but it is very difficult to achieve clinical cure by current drugs, and nucleos(t)ide analogues may require long-term medication. New serological markers can be used for further optimization of antiviral regimens, among which serum HBV RNA is transcribed from covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and is mainly derived from pregenomic RNA and its splice variants with no or partial reverse transcription. This article summarizes the sources and existing forms of serum HBV RNA, the influencing factors for serum HBV RNA level, the correlation between serum HBV RNA and other serum virological markers, and the correlation between serum HBV RNA and cccDNA in liver tissue, as well as the clinical significance of serum HBV RNA in monitoring antiviral efficacy and predicting the risk of viral rebound after drug withdrawal.