Association between preoperative infection status of hepatitis B virus and prognosis of primary liver cancer

Objective Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a risk factor for primary liver cancer. This article aims to explore the relationship between the preoperative HBV infection status and the prognosis after liver cancer resection.

Methods Totally, 910 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing radical resection were randomly selected. Clinicopathological information, preoperative hepatitis B marker serological examination, and follow-up data were used to analyze the relationship between preoperative hepatitis B infection status and patient prognosis.

Results 95.1% of patients undergoing surgery for liver cancer had hepatitis B virus infection, of whom the "small three positives" were the most common, accounting for 57.0%. The postoperative tumor-free survival rate and overall survival rate of HBV-DNA-positive patients were significantly lower than those of negative patients (P < 0.05). HBV-DNA was positively correlated with liver cirrhosis, alpha-fetoprotein level, tumor size, and vascular invasion (P < 0.001).

Conclusions Enhancing the detection of hepatitis B serum markers is beneficial for the prevention and treatment of liver cancer and could improve patient prognosis.