Similar 5‐year HCC occurrence in Tenofovir‐ and Entecavir‐treated HBV chronic infection in the French AFEF/ANRS CO22 Hepather cohort

SummaryBackgroundChronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection results in a high risk of cirrhosis and its complications, cirrhosis decompensation (DC), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), liver transplantation (LT), death or any of these outcomes (composite endpoint [CE]). Nucleos(t)ide analogues (NUCs) such as tenofovir or entecavir are associated with a reduction in these complications.AimTo compare the impact of tenofovir and entecavir on these outcomes in patients treated for HBV infection and included in the prospective Hepather cohort.MethodsAll patients with HBV infection who had received tenofovir or entecavir for more than 6 months at or after entry in the ANRS CO22 cohort were selected. Patients with HDV and HCV co‐infection or prior liver event were excluded. Incidence rates of events were compared using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPW).ResultsThe cohort included 1800 patients (986 tenofovir and 814 entecavir). Median follow‐up was 4.2 years. The incidences of HCC, DC, LT, ACD, LRD and CE were not different between tenofovir‐ (1.8 (0.9; 3.2), 0.6 (0.2; 1.6), 0.2 (0.0; 0.8), 1.7 (0.8; 3.0), 0.8 (0.2, 1.8) and 4.1 (3.0; 5.4) per 1000 person‐years) and entecavir‐treated patients (1.6 (0.7; 3.0), 0.7 (0.2; 1.8), 0.2 (0.0; 1.0), 3.0 (1.7, 4.8), 0.5 (0.1; 1.5) and 5.0 (3.3; 7.2)) per 1000 person‐years, respectively.ConclusionThe risk of liver‐related events or death was not different between tenofovir‐ and entecavir‐treated patients in this large prospective cohort of predominantly non‐cirrhotic French patients.Trial registration number: NCT019553458.