Hepatitis B virus infection and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in Korea: a case-control study.
OBJECTIVE
There is a wide variation in risk factors for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) among various populations. Several studies have suggested that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection may play a role in the development of ICC, whereas the role of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is less clear.


METHODS
To determine whether HBV or HCV infection is a risk factor of ICC, we compared baseline demographic and clinical factors in 622 patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2004 with histologically confirmed ICC and 2,488 healthy controls, matched 4:1 with ICC patients for sex and year of birth.


RESULTS
HBV infection (odds ratio [OR] 2.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6-3.3), but not HCV infection, was significantly related to ICC. Other significant risk factors for ICC included liver cirrhosis (OR 13.6), heavy alcohol consumption (OR 6.6), diabetes (OR 3.2), Clonorchis sinensis infection (OR 13.6), hepatolithiasis (OR 50.0), and choledochal cysts (OR 10.7).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate that development of ICC seems to be more closely related to HBV infection than to HCV infection in Korea, where both HBV and ICC are endemic.
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
Tae Y
TY
Lee
Sang S
SS
Lee
Seok W
SW
Jung
Seong H
SH
Jeon
Sung-Cheol
SC
Yun
Hyoung-Chul
HC
Oh
Seunghyun
S
Kwon
Sung K
SK
Lee
Dong W
DW
Seo
Myung-Hwan
MH
Kim
Dong J
DJ
Suh
D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000818:Animals; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D001653:Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018281:Cholangiocarcinoma / Q000209:etiology*; D015529:Choledochal Cyst / Q000150:complications; D003003:Clonorchiasis / Q000150:complications; D003004:Clonorchis sinensis; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D020347:Lithiasis; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors