High prevalence of transfusion-transmitted virus among patients with non-B, non-C hepatocellular carcinoma

✍ Scribed by Naoki Nakagawa; Jiro Ikoma; Tomoaki Ishihara; Noriko Yasui; Naoki Fujita; Motoh Iwasa; Masahiko Kaito; Shozo Watanabe; Yukihiko Adachi

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 62 KB
• Volume: 86
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19991015)86:8<1437::aid-cncr8>3.0.co;2-i

✦ Synopsis

BACKGROUND.

Many patients with hepatocellular carcinoma are positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) or antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV).

Recently, transfusion-transmitted virus (TTV) DNA was identified in the serum of patients with non-B, non-C posttransfusion hepatitis. In this study, the prevalence of TTV DNA in the serum of patients with non-B, non-C hepatitis-associated hepatocellular carcinoma was evaluated.

METHODS.

Fifteen patients with hepatocellular carcinoma negative for HBsAg, antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc), and anti-HCV antibodies were enrolled in this study (non-B, non-C group). Fifteen patients positive for HBsAg and negative for anti-HCV antibody (HBV group) and another group of patients negative for HBsAg but positive for anti-HCV antibody (HCV group) were also enrolled in this study. Data obtained from 27 healthy subjects negative for both HBsAg and anti-HCV antibody and normal levels of serum alanine aminotransferase represented controls. The healthy control group, the non-B, non-C group, and the HCV group were age-matched. TTV DNA was detected by heminested polymerase chain reaction in which specific primers were used.

RESULTS.

TTV DNA was detected in 10 of 15 patients (67%) in the non-B, non-C group. This prevalence rate in the non-B, non-C group was significantly higher than that in the HBV group (3 of 15 patients, 20%) and the control group (9 of 27 patients, 33%), but it was not significantly different from that in the HCV group (7 of 15 patients, 47%). The noncancerous hepatic tissue samples of 10 TTV-DNA positive patients in the non-B, non-C group included 2 with chronic hepatitis and 8 with cirrhosis.

CONCLUSIONS. This study showed that TTV DNA is frequently detected in the serum of patients with non-B, non-C hepatocellular carcinoma. This result suggests a potential pathogenetic association between hepatocellular carcinoma and