title: Comparative study on proliferation activity in small hepatocellular carcinoma related to hepatitis virus B and C.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the proliferation activity of small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) related to hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV).
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty liver biopsy specimens were obtained from patients with small HCC (≤3 cm in diameter) and examined immunohistochemically using anti-proliferating cell nuclear antigen monoclonal antibody. Of the 60 specimens, 30 were HBV-related and 30 were HCV-related. The 60 patients providing the samples for study were matched by sex and morphologic features of the HCC specimens.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The labeling index of proliferating cell nuclear antigen was 7.9% in the HBV-related HCC specimens and 12.5% in the HCV-related HCC specimens. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the early phase, or small stage, of HCC, HBV-related HCC shows similar proliferating activity to that of HCV-related HCC; this finding suggests that in the early phase, HBV-related HCC has similar malignancy to HCV-related HCC.
authors.affiliation: Shao-Jun Yu, Tumor Hospital of Gansu Province, Lanzhou 730050, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Yu
keywords: Carcinoma; Hepatitis B virus; Hepatocellular; Liver neoplasms; Proliferating cell nuclear antigen