Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Explanted Livers of Patients with Genotype D HBV Cirrhosis: Report of the First Experience from Iran

This study was conducted to determine the impact of hepatitis B virus (HBV) as a cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in a single liver transplant center in Iran. We included all hepatectomy specimens from patients with HBV-related cirrhosis who underwent transplants from May 1993 until January 2012 in this study. From these, we determined the number that had HBV-induced HCC. Nested PCR results were used to determine the HBV genotype from sections of the hepatectomy pathology specimens. During this time period there were 1361 cirrhotic livers transplanted in our center. Of these, 249 were attributed to HBV cirrhosis. Overall, HCC was detected in 40 (2.9%) subjects, of which 29 (1.2%) had HBV-related HCC. Genotype D was only genotype observed in all HBV subjects. The results revealed that although HBV-related cirrhosis was the most frequent single cause for liver transplant, the frequency of HBV-induced HCC was very low among transplant recipients. Out of 1361 transplant recipients, only 29 (2.1%) were diagnosed with HBV-related HCC. All HBV subjects had genotype D.