A high prevalence of antibody to the hepatitis C virus in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in Japan.
In Japan, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent cancers, with a reported fatality rate showing a consistent and significant increase in the last decade. At most, only 25% of HCC cases are positive for the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). To investigate a potential role for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the development of HCC, sera from 105 HBsAg-negative HCC patients were collected from five districts of Japan and assayed for antibody to HCV antigen (HCVAb). A large number of these patients (76.2%) were found to be positive for the HCVAb in comparison with the reported prevalence in sera from blood donors (1.1%). A history of blood transfusion was found in 39.6% of the cases positive for HCVAb, which was significantly different to the lower rate (4.7%) observed in HCC patients who were both positive for HBsAg and negative for HCVAb (P less than 0.001).
Nishioka
K
K
Japanese Red Cross Central Blood Center, Tokyo.
Watanabe
J
J
Furuta
S
S
Tanaka
E
E
Iino
S
S
Suzuki
H
H
Tsuji
T
T
Yano
M
M
Kuo
G
G
Choo
Q L
QL
D001803:Blood Transfusion; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology*; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology*; D015995:Prevalence
D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens