Role of hepatitis delta virus infection in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA integrates into the host DNA and shows a series of potentially oncogenetic properties, but HBV is not an acutely transforming virus, because HCC develops decades after infection. Other factors, namely cirrhosis, inflammation, alcohol intake, and viral superinfections, could promote the oncogenetic process induced by HBV-DNA integration. We studied the impact of HDV infection in the pathogenesis of HCC in 62 consecutive patients. Their mean age was 59 years (range 25-75 years), 54 were male and eight female; 58 had cirrhosis. The findings suggest that HBsAg-positive patients with HDV superinfection developed cirrhosis and HCC at an earlier age than HBsAg carriers without HDV infection. HDV appears to represent a "promotion" factor for HCC in subjects with an oncogenic risk induced by HBV. A long-lasting necroinflammatory lesion of the liver substained by productive HBV and HDV infections may be a major pathogenetic mechanism.