Risk factors for de novo hepatitis B during solid cancer treatment

Rie Sugimoto; Masayuki Furukawa; Takeshi Senju; Yoshihusa Aratake; Mototsugu Shimokawa; Yuki Tanaka; Hiroki Inada; Tatsuya Noguchi; Lingaku Lee; Masami Miki; Yuji Maruyama; Risa Hashimoto; Terumasa Hisano

doi:10.12998/wjcc.v8.i24.6264

Risk factors for de novo hepatitis B during solid cancer treatment

World J Clin Cases. 2020 Dec 26;8(24):6264-6273. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i24.6264.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatology, National Hospital Organization Kyushu Cancer Center, Fukuoka City 811-1395, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. sugirie5@yahoo.co.jp.
² Department of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatology, National Hospital Organization Kyushu Cancer Center, Fukuoka City 811-1395, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
³ National Hospital Organization Kyushu Cancer Center, Clinical Research Institute, Fukuoka City 811-1395, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

Abstract

Background: Reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) during anticancer treatment is a critical issue. When treating patients with solid tumors, it is unclear whether specific cancer types or treatments affect HBV reactivation in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-negative and hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb)-positive patients, so-called de novo hepatitis B patients. The risk of de novo hepatitis B may vary based on different background factors.

Aim: To determine the frequency and risk factors for de novo hepatitis B during solid tumor treatment.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study comprised 1040 patients without HBsAgs and with HBcAbs and/or hepatitis B surface antibodies (HBsAbs). The patients were treated for solid cancer from 2008 to 2018 at the National Kyushu Cancer Center and underwent HBV DNA measurements. Patient characteristics and disease and treatment information were investigated. HBV DNA measurements were performed using TaqMan polymerase chain reaction (PCR). To identify the risk factors associated with HBV DNA expression, the age, sex, original disease, pathology, treatment method, presence or absence of hepatitis C virus (HCV), and HBsAb and/or HBcAb titers of all subjects were investigated. In patients with HBV DNA, the time of appearance, presence of HBsAgs and HBsAbs at the time of appearance, and course of the subsequent fluctuations in virus levels were also investigated.

Results: Among the 1040 patients, 938 were HBcAb positive, and 102 were HBcAb negative and HBsAb positive. HBV DNA expression was observed before the onset of treatment in nine patients (0.9%) and after treatment in 35 patients (3.7%), all of whom were HBcAb positive. The HBV reactivation group showed significantly higher median HBcAb values [9.00 (8.12-9.89) vs 7.22 (7.02-7.43), P = 0.0001] and significantly lower HBsAb values (14 vs 46, P = 0.0342) than the group without reactivation. Notably, the reactivated group showed a significantly higher proportion of cancers in organs related to digestion and absorption (79.0% vs 58.7%, P = 0.0051). A high HBcAb titer and cancers in organs involved in digestion and absorption were identified as independent factors for HBV reactivation (multivariate analysis, P = 0.0002 and P = 0.0095). The group without HBsAbs tended to have a shorter time to reactivation (day 43 vs day 193), and the frequency of reactivation within 6 mo was significantly higher in this group (P = 0.0459) than in the other group.

Conclusion: A high HBcAb titer and cancers in organs involved in digestion and absorption are independent factors that contribute to HBV reactivation during solid tumor treatment.

Keywords: Digestion and absorption organ; Hepatitis B; Hepatitis B core antibody titer; Hepatitis B surface antibody; Reactivation; Solid cancer treatment.