A comparative immunohistochemical study of HBsAg, HBcAg and CD57 in chronic hepatitis B pediatric patients with and without malignant disorders.
OBJECTIVE
We studied the tissue expression of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg), as well as the presence of CD57 (+) lymphocytes in liver biopsies of 73 chronic hepatitis B pediatric patients. Twenty-seven of them had a malignant disease, either leukemia or solid tumor. We investigated the differences between the oncological and non-oncological patient groups.


METHODS
Liver biopsy specimens were examined for HBsAg, HBcAg and CD57 antigens immunohistochemically. Liver damage was measured according to the Knodell scoring system and all findings were assessed by Pearson correlation statistical analysis.


RESULTS
Forty-three cases (58.9%) had minimal hepatitis, 27 cases (37%) had mild and three cases (4.1%) had moderate hepatitis. Fibrosis was shown in four cases (5.5%). For histological activity index (HAI), there was no statistical difference between the two groups. HBcAg and HBsAg expression rates were 69.9% and 90.4%, respectively. CD57 (+) lymphocytes were found in 32 cases (43.8%). HBcAg expression was higher in oncological patients. There was a positive correlation between HAI and percentage of CD57 (+) cells. However, HBsAg expression showed a negative correlation with HAI. The number of CD57 (+) cells was lower than expected.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that determination of nuclear HBcAg expression would be more useful in the follow-up of oncological patients with chronic hepatitis B.
Diniz
Gülden
G
Dr. Behçet Uz Children's Hospital, Department of Pathology, Izmir, Turkey.
Aktaş
Safiye
S
Ortaç
Ragip
R
Unlü
Ismet
I
Vergin
Canan
C
D000293:Adolescent; D018959:CD57 Antigens / Q000378:metabolism*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D018959:CD57 Antigens; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens