Detection of hepatitis B virus X-region DNA in liver tissue from patients with hepatitis C virus-associated cirrhosis who subsequently developed hepatocellular carcinoma. |
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Authors: | Y Shibata K Nakata S Tsuruta K Hamasaki Y Hayashida Y Kato K Nakao K Eguchi |
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Affiliation: | The First Department of Internal Medicine, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Nagasaki, Japan. |
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Abstract: | The risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients chronically infected by hepatitis C virus (HCV) is relatively higher in Japan than in Western countries. The presence of hepatitis B virus X (HBX)-DNA in the liver tissue samples obtained on enrollment from 69 patients with HCV-associated cirrhosis who were subsequently followed in our hospital was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). During the follow-up period of 5.7+/-3.2 years (mean +/- SD), 52 (75%) of 69 patients developed HCC. The PCR analysis indicated that the HBX-DNA sequence was detected in 25 (48%) of 52 patients who developed HCC during follow-up, but in only 3 (18%) of 17 patients who did not (P<0.05). These results suggest that HBX, a hepatitis B viral product relevant to hepatocarcinogenesis, is involved in development of HCC in some patients chronically infected by HCV in Japan. |
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