Xie L, et al. - Given that chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients commonly experience virological or clinical relapse after stopping long-term nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) therapy, researchers examined CHB patients who stopped NA treatment for the expression and function of serum soluble growth stimulation expressed gene 2 (sST2), one of the Toll-like/interleukin-1 receptor members involved in numerous inflammatory processes and immune responses. They prospectively followed 91 non-cirrhotic Asian patients with CHB who discontinued NA therapy according to international guidelines up to 240 weeks. As per findings, clinical relapse patients display an increase in sST2 that might be linked with an inflammation-related immune response after discontinuation of NA treatment. sST2 expression was positively associated with HBsAg, ALT, HBV DNA, and anti-HBc levels in CHB patients after discontinuation of NA treatment.