Journal of the Chinese Medical Association
Volume 70, Issue 4 , Pages 141-145, April 2007

Hepatitis B Virus-related Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Epidemiology and Pathogenic Role of Viral Factors

  • Chun-Jen Liu

      Affiliations

    • Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
    • ,
  • Jia-Horng Kao

      Affiliations

    • Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
    • Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
    • Hepatitis Research Center, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to: Professor Jia-Horng Kao, Hepatitis Research Center, National Taiwan University Hospital, 1, Chang-Te Street, Taipei 100, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Received 4 December 2006; accepted 12 March 2007.

Article Outline

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the primary risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide. After decades of chronic hepatitis, about 30-40% of patients progress into liver cirrhosis, and of them, around 1-5% subsequently develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) annually. Since the carcinogenic process involves the interplay between the hepatitis virus and the host hepatocytes, both genomes contribute to the final pathogenic outcome, either individually or synergistically. Studying the genetic factors predisposing hepatocarcinogenesis in both host and viral genomes will help illuminate the critical carcinogenic mechanisms, and create molecular targets for future therapy. In this article, we thus review the epidemiology of HBV-related HCC and viral factors involved in hepatocarcinogenesis.

Key Words:  epidemiology , genomics , hepatitis B virus , hepatocellular carcinoma , viral factor

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PII: S1726-4901(09)70346-6

doi:10.1016/S1726-4901(09)70346-6

Journal of the Chinese Medical Association
Volume 70, Issue 4 , Pages 141-145, April 2007

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