High risk of occult hepatitis B virus infection in leukemia patients from China

In this study, we assessed the prevalence of overt and occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among leukemia patients. Among 256 leukemia patients and 377 fracture patients (control group), we found that the hepatitis B surface-antigen-positive rate was greater in leukemia patients than in the controls (odds ratio, 2.08; p = 0.01). Moreover, the prevalence of occult HBV infection was higher in leukemia patients than in the controls (10.5 % vs. 2.9 %; odds ratio, 3.92; p < 0.001). The HBV genotype distribution differed significantly between the leukemia and chronic hepatitis B or control groups (p < 0.001 and 0.01, respectively); specifically, genotype C was primarily observed in occult HBV infection patients with leukemia. The stop codon mutation rate or amino acid substitutions in the major hydrophilic region did not differ between the groups. Thus, the prevalence of occult hepatitis B is higher in leukemia patients, and the HBV genotype distribution differs between patients with leukemia and chronic hepatitis B virus infection.