Large volume of new data on the natural history and treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection have become available since 2008. These include further studies in asymptomatic subjects with chronic HBV infection and community-based cohorts, the role of HBV genotype/naturally occurring HBV mutations, the application of non-invasive assessment of hepatic fibrosis and quantitation of HBV surface antigen and new drug or new strategies towards more effective therapy. To update HBV management guidelines, relevant new data were reviewed and assessed by experts from the region, and the significance of the reported findings was discussed and debated. The earlier "Asian-Pacific consensus statement on the management of chronic hepatitis B" was revised accordingly. The key terms used in the statement were also defined. The new guidelines include general management, indications for fibrosis assessment, time to start or stop drug therapy, choice of drug to initiate therapy, when and how to monitor the patients during and after stopping drug therapy. Recommendations on the therapy of patients in special circumstances, including women in childbearing age, patients with antiviral drug resistance, concurrent viral infection, hepatic decompensation, patients receiving immune suppression or chemotherapy and patients in the setting of liver transplantation and hepatocellular carcinoma, are also included.

Introduction The Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) convened an international working party on the management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in December 2008 to develop consensus recommendations. Methods The working party consisted of expert hepatologist, hepatobiliary surgeon, radiologist, and oncologist from Asian-Pacific region, who were requested to make drafts prior to the consensus meeting held at Bali, Indonesia on 4 December 2008. The quality of existing evidence and strength of recommendations were ranked from 1 (highest) to 5 (lowest) and from A (strongest) to D (weakest), respectively, according to the Oxford system of evidence-based approach for developing the consensus statements. 123Hepatol Int (2010) 4: 439-474 DOI 10.1007/s12072-010-9165-7 Results Participants of the consensus meeting assessed the quality of cited studies and assigned grades to the recommendation statements. Finalized recommendations were presented at the fourth APASL single topic conference on viral-related HCC at Bali, Indonesia and approved by the participants of the conference.

Positivity for HBeAg is associated with an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma.

One year of treatment with entecavir (0.5 mg daily) in nucleoside-naive patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive or HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB) resulted in significantly improved liver histology and virological and biochemical endpoints in comparison with lamivudine. Patients who received at least 3 years of cumulative entecavir therapy in phase 3 studies and a long-term rollover study and underwent long-term liver biopsy were evaluated for improvements in histological appearance. Sixty-nine patients [50 HBeAg-positive and 19 HBeAg-negative] receiving entecavir therapy underwent longterm liver biopsy (median time of biopsy 5 6 years, range 5 3-7 years). Histological improvement was analyzed for 57 patients who had adequate baseline biopsy samples, baseline Knodell necroinflammatory scores !2, and adequate long-term biopsy samples. At the time of long-term biopsy, all patients in the cohort had a hepatitis B virus DNA level <300 copies/mL, and 86% had a normalized alanine aminotransferase level. Histological improvement (!2-point decrease in the Knodell necroinflammatory score and no worsening of the Knodell fibrosis score) was observed in 96% of patients, and a !1-point improvement in the Ishak fibrosis score was found in 88% of patients, including all 10 patients with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis at the phase 3 baseline. Conclusion: The majority of nucleoside-naive patients with CHB who were treated with entecavir in this longterm cohort achieved substantial histological improvement and regression of fibrosis or cirrhosis. (HEPATOLOGY 2010;52:886-893)