Antiviral Prophylaxis With Tenofovir for Patients With History of Hepatitis B Receiving Oncology Drug Treatment

Key Message

• One randomized control trial and 2 retrospective cohort studies found no significant differences between tenofovir and entecavir in the prophylaxis of hepatitis B virus reactivation in patients who were hepatitis B surface antigen positive and/or hepatitis B core antibody positive receiving chemotherapy or immunosuppressive therapy. There were no significant differences between these 2 drugs regarding renal function and other side effects.
• One randomized controlled trial found no patients in the tenofovir prophylaxis group had HBV reactivation compared to 10.7% in the observational group. However, the difference did not reach the level of statistical significance, probably owing to a small sample size. There were no significant differences between groups in terms of renal function, liver function, and other side effects.
• All 8 included guidelines strongly recommend the use of tenofovir or entecavir as antiviral prophylaxis in all patients with high risk of hepatitis B virus reactivation (hepatitis B surface antigen positive and/or hepatitis B core antibody positive) during chemotherapy or immunosuppressive therapy.