Hepatitis B virus genotype in Iranian patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HBV appears to be the most common cause of HCC in Iran. To date, no study has been carried out on the HBV genotype in Iranian HCC patients. This study was undertaken to determine the HBV genotype in Iranian patients with HCC.


METHODS
Paraffin-embedded tissue samples from 40 patients (31 males and nine females) with HBV-associated HCC were collected from different pathology centers during 2000-2007. Genotyping of HBV was performed by nested PCR-mediated amplification of the target sequence. PCR products were sequenced, and the genotype of each HBV sequence was determined by comparison with sequences of known genotypes in the GenBank. A phylogenetic tree was constructed.


RESULTS
Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all of the HBV isolates were clustered in genotype D.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results concur with other reports from Iran, all showing that genotype D is the only detectable genotype in the different clinical forms of HBV infection in this country.
Aghakhani
Arezoo
A
Clinical Research Department, Pasteur Institute of Iran, No. 69, Pasteur Ave., Tehran 13164, Iran. aaghakhani@pasteur.ac.ir
Hamkar
Rasool
R
Zamani
Nastaran
N
Eslamifar
Ali
A
Banifazl
Mohammad
M
Saadat
Alireza
A
Sofian
Masoomeh
M
Adibi
Ladan
L
Irani
Nemat
N
Mehryar
Matin
M
Akbari
Hassan Mohammad Hosseini
HM
Purkhayat
Seyed Mohammad Javad
SM
Ramezani
Amitis
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D055815:Young Adult
D004279:DNA, Viral