{
  "abstract": "Background: Functional cure through HBsAg loss is a key treatment goal in chronic hepatitis B (CHB), yet its impact on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk remains incompletely characterized, especially when achieved via interferon (IFN)-based therapy. We aimed to evaluate the HCC risk reduction associated with IFN-based therapy in low-HBsAg CHB patients and develop a validated prediction model for this population.\n\nMethods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 3,367 CHB patients with HBsAg <1,500 IU/mL, including 1,780 receiving IFN-based therapy and 1,587 on nucleos(t)ide analogue (NAs) monotherapy. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance baseline characteristics. Cox regression and time-dependent ROC analyses were employed to develop a dynamic nomogram for HCC prediction.\n\nResults: IFN-based therapy was associated with a significantly lower HCC incidence compared to NAs monotherapy (1.2% vs. 4.9%, p<0.001), with a hazard ratio of 3.03 (95% CI: 1.82–5.06) after PSM. The protective effect was most pronounced in cirrhotic patients (absolute risk reduction 8.8%, NNT = 11). A novel nomogram incorporating treatment modality, AFP, cirrhosis, age, and other variables demonstrated excellent predictive accuracy (5-year AUC: 0.888 in derivation, 0.956 in validation cohorts), outperforming existing HCC prediction models.\n\nConclusions: IFN-based therapy significantly reduces HCC risk in low-HBsAg CHB patients, particularly those with cirrhosis. We developed and validated a dynamic prediction model that may facilitate personalized surveillance and treatment decisions in functionally cured patients.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Infectious Diseases, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University",
    "Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University",
    "The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yurong Gu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Peipei Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Qinyao Xu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ting Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Huaping Xie"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Baoer Wu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yusheng Jie"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xiangyong Li"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8ft170s20f6ta.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fimmu.2026.1955742",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13724650/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "8ft170s20f6ta",
  "issns": [
    "1664-3224"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1955742/full",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Original Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2713|Hepatitis B Virus Studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222948642",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13724650/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13724650",
  "pmid": "42973876",
  "published": "2026-10-19",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8ft170s20f6ta.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:17Z",
      "native_id": "10.3389/fimmu.2026.1955742",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1955742/full"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-03T15:20:51Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13724650",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13724650"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T12:23:11Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13724650",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1955742"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T15:20:48Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42973876",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42973876"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2713|Hepatitis B Virus Studies",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Interferon-based HBV function cure therapy reduces hepatocellular carcinoma risk in low-HBsAg chronic hepatitis B patients: a propensity-matched cohort study and dynamic prediction model",
  "title_text": "Interferon-based HBV function cure therapy reduces hepatocellular carcinoma risk in low-HBsAg chronic hepatitis B patients: a propensity-matched cohort study and dynamic prediction model",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-06T12:21:04Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8ft170s20f6ta",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Immunology",
  "versions": []
}