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Analysis of HBV-Specific CD4 T-cell Responses and Identification of HLA-DR-Restricted CD4 T-Cell Epitopes Based on a Peptide Matrix
Published on: October 20, 2021
Relation between antibody to hepatitis B core antigen and survival after curative therapy for non-B non-C
Hiroki Nishikawa1, Yukio Osaki, Akira Arimoto
1Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Osaka Red Cross Hospital, 5-30 Fudegasaki-cho, Tennoji-ku, Osaka 543-0027, Japan. h-nishikawa@osaka-med.jrc.or.jp
Background/Aim:
We aimed to examine the relationship between antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) positivity and survival in patients with non-B non-C hepatocellular carcinoma (NBNC-HCC) who underwent curative treatment.
Patients And Methods:
A total of 260 patients with NBNC-HCC who underwent curative therapy were analyzed. They included 124 anti-HBc-positive patients (47.7%) and 136 anti-HBc-negative patients (52.3%). Overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates were compared.
Results:
The 3-year cumulative OS rates were 75.9% in the anti-HBc-positive group and 82.3% in the anti-HBc-negative group (p=0.069). The corresponding RFS rates were 29.8% in the anti-HBc-positive group and 43.0% in the anti-HBc-negative group (p=0.001). Multivariate analyses identified anti-HBc positivity (p=0.006), aspartate aminotransferase ≥ 40 IU/l (p=0.037) and des-γ-carboxy prothrombin ≥ 100 mAU/ml (p=0.046) as significant adverse predictors were linked to RFS.
Conclusion:
Anti-HBc positivity can be a useful predictor for recurrence in patients with NBNC-HCC after curative therapy.
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