Antibody Pattern of HCV Infection and Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Italy: A Case Control Study

The association of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the presence of a specific antibody pattern was assessed by means of a case-control study conducted in Italy on 65 consecutive newly diagnosed HCC cases and 99 sex- and age-matched control patients with chronic nonhepatic disease. The prevalences of antibody to HCV (anti-HCV) and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) observed were 66.2% and 24.6%, respectively. The relative risk for the association of each of the two markers with HCC, as calculated by multiple logistic analysis, was 26.9 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 9.9–72.5) for anti-HCV and 11.4 (95% CI: 3.1–41.1) for HBsAg. Thus, they constitute…

Phylogenetic reconstruction of HCV genotype 1b dissemination in a small city centre: The Camporeale model

Several seroepidemiological population-based surveys carried out in Italy have shown a high prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Camporeale (CP), a small Sicilian town with a 10.4% prevalence of HCV mostly genotype 1b, probably represents a specific context, since intravenous drug addiction, and sexual promiscuity are almost absent. In order to reconstruct the pattern of introduction and diffusion of HCV in this ecological niche, the NS5 genomic region of 72 HCV genotype 1 isolates (39 from CP and 33 collected throughout Sicily) was amplified and sequenced. Sequences were aligned and analyzed by BioEdit, PAUP and BEAST, and their molecular evolution compared. Thirty-eight HCV ge…

Recommendations for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic hepatitis B and C in special population groups (migrants, intravenous drug users and prison inmates).

Abstract The global spread of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), their high chronicity rates and their progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, are major public health problems. Research and intervention programmes for special population groups are needed in order to assess their infection risk and set up suitable prevention and control strategies. Aim of this paper is to give health care professionals information on HBV and HCV infections amongst migrants, drug users and prison inmates. The manuscript is an official Position Paper on behalf of the following Scientific Societies: Italian Association for the Study of the Liver (A.I.S.F.), Italian Society of In…

Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus in hepatocellular carcinoma.