Author/Authors :
YÖNAL, Oya Marmara University - School of Medicine - Department of Gastroenterology, Turkey , KURT, Ramazan Marmara University - School of Medicine - Department of Gastroenterology, Turkey , ÖZDOĞAN, Osman Marmara University - School of Medicine - Department of Gastroenterology, Turkey
Abstract :
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections are a major public health problem. It is estimated that there are more than 350 million HBV carriers in the world, of whom one million die annually from HBV-related liver disease. Chronic hepatitis B may cause cirrhosis, hepatic decompensation, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. For this reason the main goals of chronic hepatitis B treatment are a sustained reduction of HBV DNA, biochemical remission, and histological improvement in order to prevent disease progression and long-term complications such as HCC.
