title: Prospective study on the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma among hepatitis C virus-positive blood donors focusing on demographic factors, alanine aminotransferase level at donation and interaction with hepatitis B virus.
abstract: The risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among asymptomatic hepatitis C virus (HCV) carriers is not well understood. A community-based prospective study was conducted for over 8 years by record linkage to the Osaka Cancer Registry. The subjects were 1,927 individuals who were positive for anti-HCV through screening for second-generation HCV antibody (passive hemagglutination assay: >or= 2(12)) in voluntary blood donation. The risk factors for HCC and interaction between HCV and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection were evaluated by including additional blood donors: 2,519 individuals positive for hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) alone, 25 positive for both anti-HCV and HBsAg, 150,379 negative for both anti-HCV and HBsAg. The incidence of HCC (/10(5) person-years) among the HCV-positive individuals increased with age in both genders, ranging from 68 to 1,306 among those aged 45-74 years. In the HCV-positive individuals, the cumulative risk of developing HCC between the ages of 40 and 74 year was 21.6% among males and 8.7% among females. A stepwise increase in risk was noted as the serum alanine aminotransferase level increased or serum cholesterol level at baseline decreased in multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis. The 9-year cumulative incidence of HCC among individuals positive for HCV alone, those positive for HBsAg alone and those positive for both was 3.0%, 2.0% and 12.0%, respectively. The age-and-sex-adjusted rate ratio was 126, 102 and 572, respectively, when those negative for both were used as a reference. The results demonstrate an increased risk for HCC among asymptomatic HCV-positive individuals in Japan. Coinfection with HBV and HCV carried a superadditive risk for HCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Control and Statistics, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Osaka, Japan. tanaka-hi@mc.pref.osaka.jp
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsukuma
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamano
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oshima
authors.forename: Hirotoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shibata
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood*; D001782:Blood Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000201:enzymology / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000453:epidemiology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D000410:Alanine Transaminase