Objective: To observe the effect of GM-CSF and alpha-INF joint treatment on chronic hepatitis B.
Methods: GM-CSF treatment combined with alpha-INF was set up as experimental group and alpha-INF alone as the control. At the same time, we counted the blood leukocytes, monocytes and granulocytes of the patients.
Results: The short-term and long-term effective rates of the experimental group were 61% (11/18) and 67% (12/18) respectively, while those of the control group were 44% (8/18) and 33% (6/18) respectively. The leukocyte, monocyte and granulocyte counting in blood of patients treated with GM-CSF and alpha-INF increased significantly.
Conclusion: GM-CSF and alpha-INF joint treatment is effective for chronic hepatitis B. The mechanism may be related with the increasing number of monocytes in blood, hence to improve the antigen delivering ability.