ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to determine the impact of hepatitis B virus (HBV) as a cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in a single liver transplant center in Iran. METHODS: We included all hepatectomy specimens from patients with HBV-related cirrhosis who underwent transplants from May 1993 until January 2012 in this study. From these, we determined the number that had HBV-induced HCC. Nested PCR results were used to determine the HBV genotype from sections of the hepatectomy pathology specimens. RESULTS: During this time period there were 1361 cirrhotic livers transplanted in our center. Of these, 249 were attributed to HBV cirrhosis. Overall, HCC was detected in 40 (2.9%) subjects, of which 29 (1.2%) had HBV-related HCC. Genotype D was only genotype observed in all HBV subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The results revealed that although HBV-related cirrhosis was the most frequent single cause for liver transplant, the frequency of HBV-induced HCC was very low among transplant recipients. Out of 1361 transplant recipients, only 29 (2.1%) were diagnosed with HBV-related HCC. All HBV subjects had genotype D.
