Hepatitis B virus infection and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in Korea: a case-control study

There is a wide variation in risk factors for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) among various populations. Several studies have suggested that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection may play a role in the development of ICC, whereas the role of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is less clear.

To determine whether HBV or HCV infection is a risk factor of ICC, we compared baseline demographic and clinical factors in 622 patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2004 with histologically confirmed ICC and 2,488 healthy controls, matched 4:1 with ICC patients for sex and year of birth.

HBV infection (odds ratio [OR] 2.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6-3.3), but not HCV infection, was significantly related to ICC. Other significant risk factors for ICC included liver cirrhosis (OR 13.6), heavy alcohol consumption (OR 6.6), diabetes (OR 3.2), Clonorchis sinensis infection (OR 13.6), hepatolithiasis (OR 50.0), and choledochal cysts (OR 10.7).

Our results indicate that development of ICC seems to be more closely related to HBV infection than to HCV infection in Korea, where both HBV and ICC are endemic.