The role of hepatitis B virus core-related antigen for predicting the incidence of HCC

Abstract

The usefulness of HB core-related antigen (HBcrAg) for the surveillance of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been fully elucidated. We analyzed factors associated with the occurrence of HCC. High HBcrAg level for patients with nucleotide analogue (NA) administration, and high HBV-DNA level and high HBcrAg level for those without NA were revealed to be the significant factors for HCC occurrence by multivariate analysis. These data suggested that HBcrAg is the predictive factor for HCC occurrence regardless of NA administration. In conclusion, HBcrAg is a useful marker for the HCC surveillance.