ArticleFrontiers in microbiology2022
The Serious Challenge of Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma in China.
Article in Frontiers in microbiology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Investigation of Hepatitis B Vaccine Immune Responses in Occult Hepatitis B Virus-Infected Patients.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Trial
- Potential oncogenic role of occult hepatitis B virus pre-S mutations: Activation of Akt/mTOR/Cyclin D1 signaling drives cell cycle dysregulation and proliferation in hepatocellular carcinogenesis.Genes & diseases · 2026Article
- Downregulated HIPK2 Expression in T Cells Is Associated with Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection.Microorganisms · 2026Article
- Increasing Prevalence of Occult HBV Infection in Adults Vaccinated Against Hepatitis B at Birth.Vaccines · 2025Article
- Preliminary analysis of the role of small hepatitis B surface proteins mutations in the pathogenesis of occult hepatitis B infection via the endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced UPR-ERAD pathway.Open life sciences · 2025Article
- [Precise immunological classification guidance for early initiation of antiviral therapy in patients with chronic HBV infection].Zhonghua gan zang bing za zhi = Zhonghua ganzangbing zazhi = Chinese journal of hepatology · 2023Article
- [Natural history of chronic hepatitis B virus infection under low-level viremia].Zhonghua gan zang bing za zhi = Zhonghua ganzangbing zazhi = Chinese journal of hepatology · 2023Article
- TACE versus TACE + entecavir versus TACE + tenofovir in the treatment of HBV associated hepatocellular carcinoma.BMC cancer · 2023Article
- Tumor cuproptosis and immune infiltration improve survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma with a high expression of ferredoxin 1.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIt is unknown how many people in China have chronic occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (OBI) [chronic HBV infection with negative serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) (N-HBsAg)]. Their clinical and virological characteristics, especially the correlation between the OBI and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), are still elusive and need to be investigated, including prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment strategies.
methods138 patients with HCC related to OBI were screened from 698 patients of HCC associated with HBV infection, their characteristics of epidemiology, clinical, biochemistry, virology, diagnostics, and therapeutics were analyzed retrospectively. Furthermore, the correlation between virological features and clinical features was investigated.
resultsIt was found that 19.8% (138/698) of patients with HBV-related HCC were OBI, of which 79.7% (110/138) were men, and 20.3% (28/138) were women. Most of the patients with OBI-related HCC were older men, and the median age was 63.2 years. In total 78.3% (108/138) of the patients had apparent right upper abdomen discomfort and/or pain and then sought medical examination, while 21.7% (30/138) of the patients were identified by health examination. A total of 10.9% (15/138) of the patients were admitted with chronic infection of HBV, and 2.2% (3/138) of the patients were admitted with a family history of hepatitis B. The alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) serum-positive rate was 39.1% (54/138). Tumor lesions >5.0 cm, with intrahepatic and/or extrahepatic metastasis, were found in 72.5% (100/138) of the patients. The diameter of the tumor in the Group of hepatitis B core antibody-positive [HBcAb(+)] and hepatitis B surface antibody-positive [HBsAb(+)] was 7.03 ± 3.76 cm, which was much smaller than 8.79 ± 4.96 cm in the Group of HBcAb(+) and HBsAb(-) (
conclusionIt is estimated that at least 21 million OBI patients live in China. HBcAb(+) was not only the evidence of chronic HBV infection but also a dangerous mark for surface antigen-negative patients. A semi-annual or annual medical checkup is essential for all OBI patients to identify HCC as early as possible. The hypothesis underlying our analysis was that hepatitis B surface antibody would prevent the progress of HCC and facilitate the clearance of HBV in patients with OBI. Thereby, the hepatitis B vaccine could be used to prevent severe disease consequences.
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