Hepatitis B virus with pre-S2 deletion is more prevalent in hepatocellular carcinoma than in chronic active hepatitis and asymptomatic carriers.

摘要

A significant health disparity exists among Pacific-Asian ethnic groups in the incidence and prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (1). More than 600,000 people die of HCC each year and at least 300,000 of all deaths worldwide occur in China alone (2). Hepatitis B viruses (HBV) are responsible for the majority of the worldwide development of HCC and the lack of sensitive and specific biomarkers is a major reason for the high rate of HCC-related mortality. The cause of early oncogenesis in HBV-related childhood HCC remains unclear, because the reports about association between HBV mutations and hepatocarcinogenesis are conflicting (3). Recent studies dealing with the possibility that pre-S2 deletion mutation is a risk factor for HCC in children have revealed that pre-S2 deletion does not need a long time to occur (4-5). Accordingly, the knowledge about molecular epidemiology of pre-S2 deletion mutation in the HBV DNA of carriers and progressive liver disease patients is essential.