Anticardiolipin antibodies in chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis D infection, and hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma. Relationship with portal vein thrombosis.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To assess the presence of anticardiolipin antibodies (ACAs) in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, chronic hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection and HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to associate this with the incidence of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in HCC patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

Sixty-five cirrhotic patients with HBV-related HCC, 28 naive patients with chronic HBV infection and 14 naive patients with chronic HDV infection were enrolled prospectively in the study. Thirty-two healthy blood donors were used as controls. The ACAs (immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M) were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay system. Statistical analysis used non-parametric methodology (chi-squared test, Student t-test and Fisher exact test, P value<0.05).

RESULTS:

Eleven of the 65 patients with HCC (16.9%) showed a positive ACA titre and 22 of the patients (34%) had PVT. Of these patients, eight (36%) had a positive ACA titre. In contrast, from the 43 patients without PVT, only three (11%) showed a positive titre. From the 28 HBV patients, six (21.5%) had a positive ACA titre, and six out of 14 (42.8%) HDV patients also showed a positive ACA titre. Three of the six ACA positive HBV patients presented an extrahepatic manifestation of the disease. One out of 32 control patients (3%) had positive ACAs.

CONCLUSION:

Both chronic HBV and chronic HDV infections are potent stimulants for the production of ACAs. The presence of ACAs in a great proportion of HBV-cirrhosis-related HCC patients with PVT suggests their possible participation in thrombotic mechanisms and in the hypercoagulable state that occurs in advanced liver disease and HCC.

• Authors: Ioannis S Elefsiniotis, Ioannis D Diamantis, Spyros P Dourakis, Georgia Kafiri, Konstantinos Pantazis, Christos Mavrogiannis
• Journal: European journal of gastroenterology & hepatology (Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol) Vol. 15 Issue 7 Pg. 721-6 (Jul 2003) ISSN: 0954-691X [Print] England
• PMID: 12811301 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Antibodies, Anticardiolipin

Topics

• Adult
• Antibodies, Anticardiolipin (blood)
• Carcinoma, Hepatocellular (immunology, virology)
• Case-Control Studies
• Female
• Hepatitis B, Chronic (complications, immunology)
• Hepatitis D, Chronic (complications, immunology)
• Humans
• Liver Neoplasms (immunology, virology)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Portal Vein
• Prospective Studies
• Venous Thrombosis (immunology, virology)