Comparison of Hybrid Capture System, Hybrid Capture II and Quantiplex HBV DNA Assay for Quantitation of Hepatitis B Virus DNA

Ki, Chang Seok; Lee, Nam Yong; Kim, Dae Won

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Quantitative measurement of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in serum allows monitoring of HBV replication and assessing responses to antiviral treatment, which is not possible with serological markers for HBV infection. However, most assays developed for the quantitative measurement of HBV DNA have not been standardized. Therefore, we tried to compare the performance of three commercial quantitative methods for the measurement of HBV DNA.
METHODS
One hundred consecutive sera with request for HBV DNA quantitation were tested with Hybrid Capture System (HCS), Hybrid Capture II (HC-II) and Quantiplex HBV DNA Assay (bDNA Assay) to evaluate the detection rate, the concordance rate and the correlation of the quantitative results measured by each method. In addition, nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed for qualitative detection of HBV DNA.
RESULTs
Concordance rate was 87% for all three methods, 91% for HCS and HC-II, 94% for HCS and bDNA Assay, and 89% for HC-II and bDNA Assay. HBV DNA quantities measured by three methods showed significant correlation between HCS and HC-II (R=0.88, P<0.0001), HCS and bDNA Assay (R=0.82, P<0.0001), and HC-II and bDNA Assay (R=0.95, P<0.0001). Thirteen sera of discrepant results and 29 of 39 sera of negative results by all three methods showed PCR positivity.
CONCLUSIONS
Three quantitative methods for the measurement of HBV DNA showed relatively high concordance rate and good correlation. However, the results by bDNA Assay increased more rapidly than HCS and HC-II as the amounts of HBV DNA in the sample increased that the concentrations of HBV DNA measured by bDNA Assay were two or three times higher than those measured by HCS or HC-II at high HBV DNA concentration range. Thus, further studies are necessary to develop more standardized methods.