[Detection of HBV DNA and HBsAg in HCC and pericarcinomatous tissues using double labelling technique]

40 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and their surrounding tissues were studied on paraffin-embedded sections by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical double labelling techniques. The positive rates of HBV DNA and HBsAg were 65% and 82.5% respectively, suggesting that HBV infection is a significant cause of HCC. HBV DNA and HBsAg signals in the pericarcinomatous tissues were stronger than that in cancer cells. Reduced replication caused by integration of HBV DNA in HCC may explain this phenomenon. We found that the small "piece-meal like" inclusions which existed only in HCC may be a special cancer related pattern of HBsAg. There were stronger signals of HBsAg in the small cell LCD than in other pericarcinomatous lesions, supporting the theory that the small cell LCD is more likely to be a precarcinomatous lesion.