Role of occult hepatitis B virus infection in chronic hepatitis C

The development of sensitive assays to detect small amounts of hepatitis B virus(HBV) DNA has favored the identification of occult hepatitis B infection(OBI), a virological condition characterized by a low level of HBV replication with detectable levels of HBV DNA in liver tissue but an absence of d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:World journal of gastroenterology : WJG 2015-11, Vol.21 (42), p.11931-11940
Main Authors: Coppola, Nicola, Onorato, Lorenzo, Pisaturo, Mariantonietta, Macera, Margherita, Sagnelli, Caterina, Martini, Salvatore, Sagnelli, Evangelista
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomarkers - blood
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - virology
Coinfection
Disease Progression
DNA, Viral - blood
hepatiti
hepatitis
Hepatitis B - diagnosis
Hepatitis B - epidemiology
Hepatitis B - virology
Hepatitis B Antibodies - blood
Hepatitis B Surface Antigens - blood
Hepatitis B virus - genetics
Hepatitis B virus - immunology
Hepatitis B virus - isolation & purification
Hepatitis C, Chronic - diagnosis
Hepatitis C, Chronic - epidemiology
Hepatitis C, Chronic - virology
Humans
infection
Silent
Liver - pathology
Liver - virology
Liver Neoplasms - virology
Occult
Predictive Value of Tests
Prognosis
Risk Factors
Topic Highlight
Viral Load
virus
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Summary:The development of sensitive assays to detect small amounts of hepatitis B virus(HBV) DNA has favored the identification of occult hepatitis B infection(OBI), a virological condition characterized by a low level of HBV replication with detectable levels of HBV DNA in liver tissue but an absence of detectable surface antigen of HBV(HBs Ag) in serum. The gold standard to diagnose OBI is the detection of HBV DNA in the hepatocytes by highly sensitive and specific techniques, a diagnostic procedure requiring liver tissue to be tested and the use of non-standardized non-commercially available techniques. Consequently, in everyday clinical practice, the detection of anti-hepatitis B core antibody(antiHBc) in serum of HBs Ag-negative subjects is used as a surrogate marker to identify patients with OBI. In patients with chronic hepatitis C(CHC), OBI has been identified in nearly one-third of these cases. Considerable data suggest that OBI favors the increase of liver damage and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) in patients with CHC. The data from other studies, however, indicate no influence of OBI on the natural history of CHC, particularly regarding the risk of developing HCC.
ISSN:1007-9327
2219-2840
DOI:10.3748/wjg.v21.i42.11931