Risk factors, early screening, and preventing strategy for hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma / 临床肝胆病杂志

ABSTRACT

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of most important risk factors for HCC. The development of HBV-related HCC involves a complex interaction between host and virus, and related risk factors include HBV viral load, HBeAg, and host susceptibility. Screening methods for HCC include radiological examination such as ultrasound and serological markers such as α-fetoprotein, and protein induced by vitamin K antagonist-II and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) variants may help with the diagnosis of AFP-negative HCC. Appropriate measures such as HBV vaccination and antiviral therapy can help to prevent HCC. The long-term goal of antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis B is to reduce complications such as liver cirrhosis and HCC. nucleos(t)ide analogues can effectively inhibit replication of virus, but they cannot eradicate covalently closed circular DNA in the nucleus of hepatocytes. There is still an urgent need for a cure for hepatitis B. This article reviews the epidemiology, risk factors, screening methods, and preventive strategies for HBV-related HCC.