Is HBV RNA a valid marker for predicting sustained viral response for nucleoside analogue cessation?

We read with great interest the recent article by Seto et al in which the authors aimed to explore the feasibility and potential role of HBV RNA, hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg) and quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in identifying Asian patients with chronic hepatitis B suitable for the cessation of treatment.1 The study is well designed, and the results offer insight into the treatment in hepatitis B. However, certain key issues need to be highlighted. The virological relapse was 36.6%, even if HBV RNA was not detected. This is in discordance to Fan et al , who suggested a lower virological relapse (8%) in patients who are HBV RNA negative versus higher relapse rates if RNA was positive (33.3%).2 The current study does not have clear validation for using …