[Clinical significance of quantitative level of hepatitis B core antibody].

Hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) targets viral core protein and is produced in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, and seroconversion occurs in the early stage of infection and often lasts for a lifetime. Qualitative detection of anti-HBc has been used in clinical practice for many years, while the clinical significance of its quantitative level remains unclear. A novel anti-HBc immunoassay based on double-antigen sandwich ELISA has been developed in recent years and lays a foundation for illustrating the change in the quantitative level of anti-HBc (qAnti-HBc) in HBV infection and its clinical significance. Several recent studies have revealed that qAnti-HBc is associated with the degree of hepatitis activity and response to pharmacotherapy and may become an important basis for selecting antiviral drugs, optimizing therapeutic regimen, and predicting treatment outcome.