TY - JOUR
T1 - Hepatitis B Core Antibody
T2 - Role in Clinical Practice in 2020
AU - Gish, Robert G.
AU - Basit, Syed Abdul
AU - Ryan, John
AU - Dawood, Altaf
AU - Protzer, Ulrike
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020. corrected publication 2020.
PY - 2020/9
Y1 - 2020/9
N2 - Purpose of Review: It is crucial for clinicians to understand the need to screen for hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc status), proper interpretation of HBV biomarkers, and that “anti-HBc only” indicates HBV exposure, lifelong persistence of cccDNA with incomplete infection control, and potential risk for reactivation. Findings: Many common misconceptions exist, including that tests for anti-HBc have high false-positive rates, that patients with anti-HBc alone or occult hepatitis B may profit from “vaccine boosting” to achieve immune control of HBV, and that anti-HBc(+)/anti-HBs(+) patients have cleared HBV when they have actually achieved immune control, while HBV persists in some hepatocytes and can reactivate. Summary: This review breaks down several common misconceptions regarding anti-HBc with the most recent evidence. In addition, current best strategies for anti-HBc testing and interpretation are reviewed and summarized.
AB - Purpose of Review: It is crucial for clinicians to understand the need to screen for hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc status), proper interpretation of HBV biomarkers, and that “anti-HBc only” indicates HBV exposure, lifelong persistence of cccDNA with incomplete infection control, and potential risk for reactivation. Findings: Many common misconceptions exist, including that tests for anti-HBc have high false-positive rates, that patients with anti-HBc alone or occult hepatitis B may profit from “vaccine boosting” to achieve immune control of HBV, and that anti-HBc(+)/anti-HBs(+) patients have cleared HBV when they have actually achieved immune control, while HBV persists in some hepatocytes and can reactivate. Summary: This review breaks down several common misconceptions regarding anti-HBc with the most recent evidence. In addition, current best strategies for anti-HBc testing and interpretation are reviewed and summarized.
KW - Anti-HBc testing
KW - HBV biomarkers
KW - HBV reactivation
KW - HBV screening
KW - Hepatitis B core antibody
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123265231&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11901-020-00522-0
DO - 10.1007/s11901-020-00522-0
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85123265231
SN - 2195-9595
VL - 19
SP - 254
EP - 265
JO - Current Hepatology Reports
JF - Current Hepatology Reports
IS - 3
ER -
