HEPATITIS-B AND HEPATITIS-C VIRUS SEROLOGIES AMONG JAPANESE-AMERICANSWITH HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA

A cohort of 5924 Japanese American men was examined between 1967 and 1 970 for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). By 1992, 24 incident cases of HCC were histologically confirmed in the group, Frozen serum samples f rom the 24 men with HCC and 72 age-matched controls were tested for he patitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), antibodies to hepatitis B core anti gen, antibodies to HBsAg, and antibodies to hepatitis C virus. HBsAg w as detected in 15 (62.5%) of 24 HCC cases compared with 2 (2.8%) of 72 controls (odds ratio, 43.0; 95% confidence interval, 5.7-325.5). None of the cases and only 1 control had antibody to hepatitis C virus. Th is study demonstrates a strong association between hepatocellular carc inoma and hepatitis B virus infection, but not with hepatitis C virus infection, among men of Japanese ancestry in Hawaii.