RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VIRAL HEPATITIS B AND LIVER CIRRHOiSIS AND CARCINOMA

Orcein stained paraffin sections of liver tis- sue of 101 autopsy cases of liver cirrhosis and liver cirrhosis with liver carcinoma are studied to investigate HBsAg positivity and its histolo- gical distribution of HBsAg. HBsAg posi- tivity in portal cirrhosis (75.6qo) as well as in postnecrotic cirrhosis (73.6%) is notably higher than in noncirrhotic cases. Close relationships between hepatitis B infection and the develop- ment of portal as well as postnecrotic cirrhosis seem to exist. Furthermore, HBsAg positivity in liver cirrhosis associated with liver carcinoma is higher than in cirrhosis without liver carcino- ma. Its significance awaits further study.