Abstract:

Objective To analyze integration of hepatitis B virus（HBV） X gene into the genome of primary hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） tumors and surrounding tissue，and to explore potential risk factors of such integration in patients from the HCC high-incidence area of Guangxi. Methods DNA was extracted from HCC tissue and adjacent non-tumor liver tissue of 30 patients with HBV-related HCC. Primers were designed to amplify the HBV X sequence and human Alu repeats by Alu-PCR，and PCR products were Sanger- sequenced. Results Among the 30 patients，18（60.00%） showed integration of the HBV X gene into HCC tumors，compared to 26 （86.67%） who showed X gene integration into adjacent liver tissue （χ²=5.445，P=0.020）. Incidence of X gene integration did not vary significantly with sex，age，HbeAg status，HBV DNA load，ALT or AST in HCC tissue or adjacent non-tumorous liver tissue（P>0.05）.Conclusions Incidence of HBV integration is higher in non-tumorous tissues than in tumorous tissues in patients with HBV-related HCC in Guangxi.HBV integration appears to occur in early stages of HCC development. HBV X gene integration does not appear to be influenced by sex，age，HBeAg status，HBV DNA load，ALT or AST.

Key words: Hepatocellular carcinoma, Hepatitis B virus X gene, Integration, Guangxi