[Hepatitis B virus: DNA integration and hepatocellular carcinoma]

Hepatitis B Virus DNA integrates into host cell DNA upon infection. Analyses of early integrants have revealed that the origin of DNA synthesis in the viral genome plays a major role in the integration process. In liver cancers many of the integrants are found in different structures, suggesting that the primary integrants must have undergone secondary rearrangements. Such rearrangements include large deletions, translocations, inversions, and local amplifications. The mechanism that leads to these rearrangements are inferred, and their role in development of hepatocellular carcinomas is discussed.