Volume 60, Issue 10 pp. 1315-1324
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Positivity of high-sensitivity HBsAg test, not previous HBV infection, indicates poor prognosis in patients with non-HBV-related HCC

Naohiro Yasuura

Naohiro Yasuura

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation, ​Investigation, Formal analysis

Search for more papers by this author
Goki Suda

Corresponding Author

Goki Suda

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Correspondence

Goki Suda and Naoya Sakamoto, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.

Email: [email protected] and [email protected]

Contribution: Conceptualization, Methodology, ​Investigation, Funding acquisition, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

Search for more papers by this author
Masatsugu Ohara

Masatsugu Ohara

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation, Formal analysis, Validation, ​Investigation, Writing - review & editing

Search for more papers by this author
Akimitsu Meno

Akimitsu Meno

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Writing - review & editing, Data curation

Search for more papers by this author
Takuya Sho

Takuya Sho

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation

Search for more papers by this author
Risako Kohya

Risako Kohya

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation

Search for more papers by this author
Takashi Sasaki

Takashi Sasaki

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation

Search for more papers by this author
Tomoka Yoda

Tomoka Yoda

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation, ​Investigation

Search for more papers by this author
Sonoe Yoshida

Sonoe Yoshida

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation

Search for more papers by this author
Qingjie Fu

Qingjie Fu

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation

Search for more papers by this author
Zijian Yang

Zijian Yang

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation

Search for more papers by this author
Shunichi Hosoda

Shunichi Hosoda

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation

Search for more papers by this author
Osamu Maehara

Osamu Maehara

Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation

Search for more papers by this author
Shunsuke Ohnishi

Shunsuke Ohnishi

Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation

Search for more papers by this author
Tomoya Saitou

Tomoya Saitou

Department of Gastroenterological Surgery I, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation, ​Investigation

Search for more papers by this author
Masaya Sugiyama

Masaya Sugiyama

Department of Viral Pathogenesis and Controls, National Center for Global Health Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

Contribution: Writing - review & editing, Supervision

Search for more papers by this author
Takasuke Fukuhara

Takasuke Fukuhara

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan

Contribution: Supervision, Writing - review & editing

Search for more papers by this author
Masaru Baba

Masaru Baba

Center for Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Japan Community Healthcare Organization Hokkaido Hospital, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation

Search for more papers by this author
Takashi Kitagataya

Takashi Kitagataya

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation

Search for more papers by this author
Naoki Kawagishi

Naoki Kawagishi

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation

Search for more papers by this author
Masato Nakai

Masato Nakai

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation

Search for more papers by this author
Mitsuteru Natsuizaka

Mitsuteru Natsuizaka

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation, Supervision, Writing - review & editing

Search for more papers by this author
Koji Ogawa

Koji Ogawa

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Data curation

Search for more papers by this author
Akinobu Taketomi

Akinobu Taketomi

Department of Gastroenterological Surgery I, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan

Contribution: Writing - review & editing, Supervision, Funding acquisition

Search for more papers by this author
Naoya Sakamoto

Corresponding Author

Naoya Sakamoto

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Correspondence

Goki Suda and Naoya Sakamoto, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.

Email: [email protected] and [email protected]

Contribution: Supervision, Writing - review & editing, Funding acquisition

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 04 September 2024
Citations: 2

Naohiro Yasuura, Goki Suda, and Masatsugu Ohara contributed equally to this work.

The Handling Editor for this article was Professor Geoffrey Dusheiko, and it was accepted for publication after full peer-review.

Summary

Background and Aims

The prognostic impact of previous-HBV-infection (pHBV) in non-HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (non-HBV-related-HCC) and the prevalence, characteristics and significance of recently developed high-sensitivity HBs antigen positivity (hHBsAg+) in these patients remain unclear. We aimed to close these gaps.

Methods

We retrospectively screened patients with newly diagnosed non-HBV-related-HCC (standard HBsAg-test negative) at Hokkaido University. Patients with complete clinical information and preserved serum for hHBsAg+ were included. We evaluated the prevalence, characteristics and prognostic impact of pHBV and hHBsAg+ in non-HBV-related-HCC.

Results

A total of 401 non-HBV-related-HCC patients were included (288 with pHBV/113 without pHBV). In non-HBV-related-HCC, pHBV did not affect overall survival (OS). Among non-HBV-related-HCC patients with pHBV, 11.8% (34/288) were hHBsAg+ and had more advanced stages of HCC, higher AFP levels, higher vascular invasion rates, and significantly shorter OS than others (OS: 19.3 vs. 61.4 months, p = 0.012). Comparison of OS among non-HBV-related-HCC patients without pHBV (group 1), those with pHBV and without hHBsAg+ (group 2), and those with pHBV and hHBsAg+ (group 3) revealed significantly shorter OS in group 3 (19.3, 56.6 and 66.4 months in groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively; p = 0.036). Multivariate Cox regression indicated that compared with group 1, only group 3 was significantly and independently associated with shorter OS (HR: 2.044, p = 0.011). Subgroup analysis revealed that this association was particularly evident in non-HBV-related-HCC patients with non-B-non-C aetiology and advanced HCC.

Conclusions

In non-HBV-related-HCC patients, hHBsAg+, not pHBV, is significantly and independently associated with poor prognosis.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this article. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.