• Association between Hepatitis B Virus ( HBV ) infection and variety of cancers, including liver cancer
  • Mahsa Rahnein,1 Azin Sarhadi ,2 Shaghayegh Yazdani,3,*
    1. BS student in Microbiology,Faculty of Advanced Science & Technology, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
    2. BS student in Microbiology,Faculty of Advanced Science & Technology, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
    3. Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Advanced Science & Technology, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran


  • Introduction: HBV infections can be acute or chronic. Acute liver infection is jaundice with elevated serum aminotransferase. Cancer caused by liver cirrhosis causes HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma). Hepatitis B contains a surface antigen called HBsAg, which can cause a chronic infection if it stays in a person's blood or serum for a long time (six months or more). The routes of transmission are primarily from mother to child through the placenta, sexual path and infected needles. The chronic form of HBV has worse results than the acute form. The liver plays an important role in maintaining adequate glucose levels, transporting nutrients, and filtering toxins so that this infection can pose a serious risk. Joint infection of the liver with HCV causes fibrosis and cirrhosis and leads to cancer. By producing a circular DNA-shaped plasmid, the virus optimizes its life cycle for long-term survival in liver tissue.
  • Methods: Several studies have been conducted to investigate the association between HBV infection and various cancers, including liver cancer. One of these studies was conducted in China between 2004 and 2008to determine the association between this infection and all cancer types. In this study, a dipstick test was used (a test to detect abnormalities that contain chemical strips that change color if there is a disease); this test was used to detect hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Blood tests for people with HBV are generally used to diagnose this infection. Laboratory diagnosis of HBV also focuses on the detection of its surface antigen. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a highly sensitive technique for the detection of hepatitis B virus DNA in serum, liver tissue and mononuclear blood cells. Therefore PCR is another method of diagnosing HBV, especially in chronic HBV and people with HBsAg positive and for follow-up HBV infections in liver transplantation programs.
  • Results: Studies in China have shown that participants who were HBsAg positive had a higher risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, oral cancer, pancreatic cancer and lymphoma when compared with participants who were HBsAg negative. The persistence of HBsAg is the principal marker of risk for developing chronic liver disease and liver cancer later in life.
  • Conclusion: This study found that HBV infection was also associated with the risk of nonliver cancer, especially digestive system cancers.
  • Keywords: HBV infection , HCC , cirrhosis , chronic.