Treatment Options for Hepatitis B
People living with chronic hepatitis B infection should expect to live a long and healthy life. There are decisions people can make to protect their livers such as seeing a liver specialist or health care provider who is knowledgeable about how to manage and treat hepatitis B regularly, avoiding alcohol and tobacco, and eating healthy foods. There are approved treatments for both adults and children, but there is still no complete cure. Treatment helps to control the virus, prevent HBV DNA integration, and reduces risk of progression to liver damage and liver cancer for many people.
Current treatments for hepatitis B fall into two general categories:
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Immune modulator Drugs – These are interferon-type drugs that boost the immune system to help get rid of the hepatitis B virus. They are given as a shot (similar to how insulin is given to people with diabetes) over 6 months to 1 year.
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Antiviral Drugs – These are drugs that stop or slow down the hepatitis B virus from reproducing, which reduces the inflammation and damage of your liver. These are taken as a pill once a day for at least 1 year and usually longer.
Currently, not everyone living with chronic hepatitis B is recommended for treatment. Treatment recommendations are made by professional medical societies. Treatment is an essential component of preventing liver disease and liver cancer, and there is a concerted global effort to ensure that everyone who would benefit from treatment has the option and access. The Hepatitis B Foundation supports shared decision making, and believes that a person’s preference for treatment should be considered when making treatment decisions. You can reach the full statement on the Foundation’s position.
Talk to your health care provider about whether you should consider treatment with any of the approved drugs. In addition, ask your provider if they participate in any clinical trials that are testing several new hepatitis B drugs. Learn more about Hepatitis B Clinical Trials.
Whether you start treatment or not, it is very important to be regularly seen by a liver specialist or a health care provider who is knowledgeable about hepatitis B. The standard recommendation is every 6 months, but some people may be checked more often or even just once a year. During these check-up visits, your provider will monitor your health through a physical exam, blood tests and imaging studies (such as an ultrasound, FibroScan [Transient Elastography] or CT scan). The goal of these check-ups is to make sure that you are staying healthy and to detect any liver problems as early as possible.
Hepatitis B Drug Watch
The Hepatitis B Foundation created the HBF Drug Watch to keep track of approved and promising new treatments. In 1991, “interferon alpha” was the first drug approved for hepatitis B and given as a series of injections over 1 year. In 1998, “lamivudine” was approved as the first oral antiviral drug taken once a day.
There are approved drugs for hepatitis B in the United States – both injectable and oral antivirals – that control the hepatitis B virus. We hope that a cure or functional cure will be available in the near future because there is exciting research being done today to generate promising new drugs. These new drugs all work differently than the approved treatments, so a possible cure could include a combination of the old and new drugs. Several of the new drugs are already being tested in people. Learn more about HBV Clinical Trials.
Visit the HBF Drug Watch for a complete list of the approved treatments for hepatitis B and promising new drugs in development.