Abstract:

Objective To study potential associations between mutations in hepatitis B virus （HBV） S gene and risk of primary liver cancer（PLC） in FuSui county of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Methods A total of 30 new cases of PLC from individuals at high PLC risk in FuSui（based on HBsAg positivity lasting from 2011 to 2015） were matched with 30 controls without cancer. The S gene was amplified from DNA in serum by nested PCR and sequenced directly. Results were analyzed by chi-squared test，Fisher's exact test and conditional logistic regression. Results Frequencies of the mutations T140A，T140C，T300C and G620A differed signifi-cantly between cases and controls（P<0.05）. Logistic regression linked T140C to significantly lower risk of PLC（OR 0.484，95% CI ：0.239-0.994） and T300C with significantly higher risk of PLC（OR 2.911，95% CI ：1.110-7.629）. Conclusion T140C and T300C are independent predictors of PLC，with T140C an apparent protective factor and T300C an apparent risk factor.

Key words: Liver neoplasm, Hepatitis B virus, S gene, Gene mutation, Case-control study