Comparison Study on Characteristics of Hepatitis B Virus Whole Genomes for Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Chronic Hepatitis B Patients

Abstract Objective This study was to characterize the whole gene sequences of hepatitis B virus (HBV) derived from patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as well as those with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infections. Methods Patients in the HCC group and the CHB group were matched by age, gender, and region. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify the HBV complete genome sequences. Results Serum samples were collected from 51 patients with HBV-related HCC and 76 patients with CHB. A total of 148 substitution sites deemed statistically significant were identified between the HCC and CHB groups. In addition, three mutational sites associated with HCC, (F22I/L/P in the pre-S2 region, P33S/T and S144A/T/V in the X region) were identified. Deletions to the pre-S and X regions were found in both HCC and CHB patients. However, deletions to the X region were more common in the HCC group than the CHB group. In this study the mutations associated with high risk of HCC mostly occurred in the sequences and some substitutions (C1470A/T, T1803A/G, and C1804T) that have not been previously reported. Conclusion It was implicated that aa33 and aa144 substitution in X region may be new predictive markers for HCC. The results of our study would provide important basic information for HCC prevention.