HBV viral load and tumor and non-tumor factors in patients with HBV-associated HCC

Engin Ataman; Murat Harputluoglu; Brian Irving Carr; Harika Gozukara; Volkan Ince; Sezai Yilmaz

doi:10.14744/hf.2023.2023.0038

HBV viral load and tumor and non-tumor factors in patients with HBV-associated HCC

Hepatol Forum. 2024 Feb 12;5(2):73-76. doi: 10.14744/hf.2023.2023.0038. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Engin Ataman¹, Murat Harputluoglu¹, Brian Irving Carr², Harika Gozukara³, Volkan Ince⁴, Sezai Yilmaz⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Inonu University Medical Faculty Liver Transplant Institute, Malatya, Turkiye.
² Inonu University Medical Faculty Liver Transplant Institute, HCC Translational Research Unit, Malatya, Turkiye.
³ Department of Biostatistic, Inonu University School of Medicine, Malatya, Turkiye.
⁴ Department of General Surgery, Inonu University School of Medicine, Liver Transplant Institute, Malatya, Turkiye.

Abstract

Background and aim: Several tumor and non-tumor factors affect the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. This study aimed to investigate the effects of hepatitis B virus (HBV) viral load on tumor and non-tumor factors in patients with HBV-associated HCC.

Materials and methods: Patients with hepatitis B and HCC who presented to the HCC council at the Faculty of Medicine, Marmara University Liver Transplantation Institute, were included in our study. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of HBV-DNA, and it was determined whether there were differences between these two groups with respect to tumor and non-tumor parameters.

Results: Comparison of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels between HBV-DNA negative and positive patients showed significant differences (respectively p<0.01, p<0.01, p<0.05, and p<0.05). A major finding was a very significant difference between the two patient groups in terms of portal vein invasion (PVI) and venous invasion (p<0.001 and p<0.01, respectively). However, there was no significant difference in metastasis or lymph node involvement between HBV-DNA negative and positive patients.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that HBV viral load plays an important role in PVI in HCC patients, and there is a significant relationship between HBV viral load and inflammation.

Keywords: HBV-DNA; Hepatitis B; hepatocellular carcinoma.