Detection of hepatitis C virus replication in ovarian metastases of a patient with hepatocellular carcinoma.
Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common human cancers with an annual incidence of about 1,000,000 cases worldwide. Although hepatocellular carcinoma is predominant in hepatitis B virus endemic areas, it has also become a major problem in Europe, Japan and North America in close association with the increasing incidence of hepatitis C virus infection. The pathogenetic role of hepatitis C virus infection in the development of HBsAg-negative hepatocellular carcinoma needs to be clarified. In this paper the case of a 66-year-old HBsAg-negative and anti-HCV positive female who developed hepatocellular carcinoma in a cirrhotic liver is reported. After 1 year of follow up, urgent laparotomy had to be performed due to highly differentiated ovarian metastases of the hepatocellular carcinoma. Plus- and minus-stranded HCV-RNA was detected by reverse transcription and "nested" polymerase chain reaction in both the patient's serum and in the metastatic ovarian tissue.
I. Department of Internal Medicine, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany.
W O
WO
Böcher
H F
HF
Löhr
K W
KW
Steegmüller
S
S
Störkel
U
U
Jäger
K H
KH
Meyer zum Büschenfelde
G
G
Gerken
D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000821:virology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary* / Q000821:virology*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014779:Virus Replication
D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D012367:RNA, Viral