Effect of TT virus infection on hepatocellular carcinoma development: Results of a Euro-Asian survey

A small percentage of persons with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) lack iden tifiable causes of liver pathology. The single-stranded DNA virus, TT virus (TTV), has been found in persons with acute and chronic liver injury. Nest ed polymerase chain reaction was used to search for both TTV and parvovirus es in 293 HCC samples from Asia and Europe. TTV was found in >30% of Chines e and Italian samples hut in only 13% of French samples. No clinicopatholog ic differences were found between TTV-positive and -negative populations. A significant association was found between TTV infection and hepatitis B vi rus (P<.01) and herpesviruses (P<.02) in HCC patients, suggesting that fact ors promoting these infections are associated with enhanced TTV positivity. Parvovirus B19 and adeno-associated virus were found in only 7.5% of the t umors. Taken together, these data suggest that TTV infection is unlikely to be associated with the induction or acceleration of the hepatocarcinogenic process in humans.