High prevalence of transfusion-transmitted virus among patients with non-B, non-C hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND. Many patients with hepatocellular carcinoma are positive for he patitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) or antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti- HCV). Recently, transfusion-transmitted virus (TTV) DNA was identified in t he serum of patients with non-B, non-C posttransfusion hepatitis. In this s tudy, the prevalence of TTV DNA in the serum of patients with non-B, non-C hepatitis-associated hepatocellular carcinoma was evaluated. METHODS, Fifteen patients with hepatocellular carcinoma negative for HBsAg, antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc), and anti-HCV antibodies were enrolled in this study (non-B, non-C group). Fifteen patients positiv e for HBsAg and negative for anti-HCV antibody (HBV group) and another grou p of patients negative for HBsAg but positive for anti-HCV antibody (HCV gr oup) were also enrolled in this study. Data obtained from 27 healthy subjec ts negative for both HBsAg and anti-HCV antibody and normal levels of serum alanine aminotransferase represented controls. The healthy control group, the non-B, non-C group, and the HCV group were age-matched. TTV DNA was det ected by heminested polymerase chain reaction in which specific primers wer e used. RESULTS. TTV DNA was detected in 10 of 15 patients (67%) in the non-B, non- C group. This prevalence rate in the non-B, non-C group was significantly h igher than that in the HBV group (3 of 15 patients, 20%) and the control gr oup (9 of 27 patients, 33%), but it was not significantly different from th at in the HCV group (7 of 15 patients, 47%). The noncancerous hepatic tissu e samples of 10 TTV-DNA positive patients in the non-B, non-C group include d 2 with chronic hepatitis and 8 with cirrhosis. CONCLUSIONS, This study showed that TTV DNA is frequently detected in the s erum of patients with non-B, non-C hepatocellular carcinoma. This result su ggests a potential pathogenetic association between hepatocellular carcinom a and TTV infection. (C) 1999 American Cancer Society.