Research progress in combination therapy with pegylated interferon and nucleos(t)ide analogues in treatment of chronic hepatitis B

Current antiviral treatment strategy for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) includes pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) and nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs). Whether combination therapy with PEG-IFN and NAs improve therapeutic efficacy has become the key question regarding the antiviral therapy for CHB. This article reviews the recent progress in combination therapy for the management of CHB. The results indicate that the efficacy of simultaneous combination of PEG-IFN and NAs is not superior to that of PEG-IFN monotherapy in terms of HBeAg seroconversion and response after drug withdrawal. Sequential combination or switching therapy in PEG-IFN- or NAs-treated patients, as well as combination with immune cell therapy, is a promising treatment strategy