Based on an analysis of 1509 patients with HCC in Taiwan, immunization of infants against HBV reduces their risk of developing HCC as children and young adults. Improving HBV vaccination strategies and overcoming risk factors could reduce the incidence of liver cancer.

Summary Background There remains an unmet need for convenient biomarkers to assess the risks of discontinuing nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) in chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Aim To investigate if hepatitis B core‐related antigen (HBcrAg) is an independent of surface antigen (HBsAg) for risk prediction of NA cessation. Methods This prospective multicentre study enrolled 135 CHB patients who stopped entecavir or tenofovir after achieving viral remission for a median of 25.2 months. All patients stopped NA with negative HBeAg and undetectable viral DNA, and were then observed for clinical relapse and HBsAg loss. Predictors including HBsAg and HBcrAg levels were explored using Cox proportional hazard model and weighted to develop a risk score. Results During a median follow‐up of 25.9 months, clinical relapse and HBsAg loss occurred in 66 and eight patients, respectively, with a 5‐year cumulative incidence of 56.1% (95% CI 46.7‐66.0%) and 8.8% (95% CI 4.3‐17.4%), respectively. HBcrAg was an independent relapse predictor, as well as HBsAg, age, ALT and tenofovir use. A score (SCALE‐B) was calculated by the equation of 35*HBsAg (log IU/mL) + 20*HBcrAg (log U/mL) + 2*age (year) + ALT (U/L) + 40 for tenofovir use. The concordance rates for clinical relapse were 0.87, 0.88, 0.87, 0.85 and 0.90 at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years, respectively. Moreover, HBsAg loss occurred exclusively in low‐risk patients predicted by the score. Conclusions Serum HBcrAg and HBsAg levels were independent predictors of off‐NA relapse and can be factored into a risk score to guide treatment cessation in patients with CHB.

The Rome III subgroups of functional dyspepsia significantly overlap. Patients fulfilling criteria for both subgroups had symptoms that were psychopathologically more severe than those of patients without overlapping. Diagnosis of postprandial distress syndrome, but not epigastric pain syndrome, is independently associated with psychopathological factors.

The effectiveness of proton pump inhibitor therapy and that of prokinetic therapy in functional dyspepsia are not different, and cannot be predicted by Rome III subgroups (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00663897).

A high viral load at the virological relapse predicts subsequent clinical hepatitis in CHB patients who discontinue entecavir.