Letter to the editor: Standardization of HBV‐RNA assay for the different phases of chronic hepatitis B is essential

We read with interest the article by Mak et al. (1) that assessed HBV-RNA profiles using real-time PCR (m2000 system, Abbott Diagnostics, Abbott Park, USA), and their correlation with other viral biomarkers, in a large cohort of chronic hepatitis-B (CHB) patients, either treatment-naive or receiving nucleos(t)ide analogues. The authors reported median serum levels of HBV-DNA higher than HBV-RNA by 1-2 log10 in both HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative treatment-naive patients.