title: Presence of hepatitis B virus DNA in serum of surface-antigen-seronegative immunocompromised patients.
abstract: We compared the prevalence of serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in cancer patients who were immunocompromised with that in healthy subjects. Testing positive for serum HBV DNA were 27 of the 232 (11.6%) surface-antigen-negative cancer patients and 7 of the 382 (1.8%) surface-antigen-negative healthy subjects. These data suggest that the negative serology, at least in immunocompromised individuals, is probably not sufficient to exclude HBV infection.
mesh_terms: D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens