Disease-free survival after surgical treatment of hepatitis
C-associated hepatocellular carcinoma was significantly influenced by
occult or overt hepatitis B coinfection in a recent study.
Researchers evaluated liver tissue from 115 patients with HCV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)
who underwent total surgical removal of tumors between July 1998 and
August 2001 at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Linko, Taiwan. All tissue
was collected from the noncancerous parts of the removed HCC.
“Theoretically, occult HBV-infected patients can have negative serum HBV DNA and negative serum HBsAg, but positive liver tissue HBV DNA,” researcher Chau-Ting Yeh, MD, PhD, director of the Liver Research Center at the hospital, told Healio.com.
“[However,] it is very difficult to identify such patients. Using
surgically removed HCC tissue, we have an excellent opportunity to look
into this issue.”
Labels: disease progression, HCV/HBV coinfection, Liver cancer HCC, Occult HBV