ALB and hepatitis A virus infection: This study demonstrated the followings: 1) HBV-DNA, but not ALT levels, before lamivudine treatment was associated with increased serum albumin levels at 12 months after treatment (Δ-albumin); 2) Even among those patients who showed cessation of hepatitis following treatment, there was no correlation between either pretreatment ALT levels or Δ-ALT and Δ-albumin; 3) In contrast, in the analysis of subjects with undetectable HBV-DNA levels after treatment, there was significant correlation between both pretreatment HBV-DNA levels and Δ-HBV-DNA and Δ-albumin.