SEN virus infection influences the pathological findings in liver but does not affect the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic hepatitis C and liver cirrhosis

• Published in: Liver international 2005-04, Vol.25 (2), p.226-235
• Main Authors: Moriyama, Mitsuhiko, Mikuni, Morio, Matsumura, Hiroshi, Nakamura, Hitomi, Oshiro, Shyu, Aoki, Hiroshi, Shimizu, Toshihiro, Yamagami, Hiroaki, Shioda, Atsuo, Kaneko, Miki, Tanaka, Naohide, Arakawa, Yasuyuki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age Distribution; Base Sequence; Biopsy, Needle; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - epidemiology; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - pathology; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - virology; chronic hepatitis C; Cohort Studies; Disease Progression; DNA Virus Infections - diagnosis; DNA Virus Infections - epidemiology; DNA Viruses - isolation & purification; DNA, Viral - analysis; Female; hepatitis C virus (HCV); Hepatitis C, Chronic - epidemiology; Hepatitis C, Chronic - pathology; hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); Humans; Immunohistochemistry; incidence of HCC; irregular regeneration of hepatocytes (IR); Japan - epidemiology; liver cirrhosis; Liver Cirrhosis - epidemiology; Liver Cirrhosis - pathology; Liver Cirrhosis - virology; Liver Function Tests; Liver Neoplasms - epidemiology; Liver Neoplasms - pathology; Liver Neoplasms - virology; Male; Middle Aged; Molecular Sequence Data; Multivariate Analysis; Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods; Prevalence; Probability; Proportional Hazards Models; Risk Assessment; SEN virus; SEN-V DNA; Severity of Illness Index; Sex Distribution; Survival Rate
• ISSN: 1478-3223; 1478-3231
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1478-3231.2005.01076.x

: Background/Aims: This investigation compared the histological findings in the livers of chronic hepatitis C patients who were or were not co‐infected with SEN virus (SEN‐V) to determine the histological and clinical characteristics of SEN‐V infection in Japan. Methods: Three hundred and ninety‐two patients with hepatitis C virus‐associated chronic hepatitis (CH) or liver cirrhosis (LC) were included in the study. Serum samples were tested for the presence of SEN‐V DNA by nested polymerase chain reaction. The liver biopsy specimen of each patient was examined and scores were assigned to indicate the severity of each of the following features: inflammatory cell infiltration in the periportal, parenchymal, and portal areas; F stage; portal sclerotic change; perivenular fibrosis; pericellular fibrosis; damage to the bile ducts; steatosis and irregular regeneration of hepatocytes (IR). Results: Of the 473 patients, 194 (41.0%) were positive for SEN‐V DNA. The rate of progression of F stage correlated with SEN‐V DNA positivity. The blood biochemical parameters did not differ significantly between the SEN‐V DNA‐positive and ‐negative patients. The histological features of the livers of SEN‐V DNA‐positive patients included more severe parenchymal inflammatory cell infiltration and more IR. In particular, among those at the F2, F3 and F4 stages, the degree of IR of the SEN‐V DNA‐positive patients was significantly greater than that of the SEN‐V DNA‐negative patients. The cumulative probability of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) incidence and survival rate did not differ between the SEN‐V DNA‐positive and‐negative patients. Conclusions: SEN‐V co‐infection may influence the histopathological features of the livers of patients with type C CH and LC but does not affect the outcome of patients with type C chronic liver disease.