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Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: BACKGROUND, METHODS, RESULTS. Meshes: Adult, Aged, Carcinoma, Hepatocellular, DNA, Viral, Female, Hepatitis B Surface Antigens, Hepatitis B e Antigens, Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis B, Chronic, Hepatitis C Antibodies, Humans, Liver Neoplasms, Male, Middle Aged, Multivariate Analysis, Prognosis, Survival Rate, Viral Load.
user
Is viral load a significant prognostic factor for hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma? Context: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is closely linked to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The objective of the current study was to identify the factors involved in the prognosis of patients with HBV-associated HCC using multivariate analysis. The current study included 74 patients with HBV-associated HCC who were admitted to Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan, between 1983-1998. Of these, 13 patients underwent surgical tumor resection; 43 patients received nonsurgical treatment with transcatheter arterial embolization, percutaneous ethanol injection, or both; and 18 patients were followed without any active treatment. The significance of the patient's age; gender; history of blood transfusion; alcohol use; serum levels of alanine aminotransferase, alpha-fetoprotein, and HBV-DNA; number and size of liver tumors; clinical stage; and histologic diagnosis of HCC as prognostic factors was evaluated using univariate and multivariate analyses. The 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year postdiagnosis cumulative survival rates were 36%, 21%, and 17%, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified the level of serum HBV-DNA and tumor size at diagnosis as independent and significant prognostic factors (P = 0.0022 and P = 0.0106, respectively). In addition, a low level of viremia was found to be associated with longer survival (P = 0.0057) even in patients who were negative for the hepatitis B e antigen.
assistant
The results of the current study suggest that viral load is a useful prognostic marker for HBV-related HCC and that HCC patients with a less favorable course appear either to clear the virus poorly or to have a greater level of virus production. Final Decision: yes