Relationship between the mutations in precore/core region of hepatitis B virus gene and the postoperative survival in hepatocellular carcinoma

Objective To investigate the relationship between the mutations in precore/core (preC/C) region of hepatitis B virus (HBV) gene and the postoperative survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods A total of 81 cases in HBV associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC) patients with cancer tissue genomic DNA were extracted. The preC/C region of HBV was amplified and sequenced, and survival-associated HBV mutations were identified according to the NCBI database. The relationships between the mutations in the preC/C region and HCC survival was analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox proportional hazards model. Eleven mutational sites were identified as statistically significant independent predictors of HBV-HCC postoperative survival. Results The portal vein thrombosis, tumor TNM classification and size were identified as statistically significant independent predictors of survival in HBV-HCC patients. In the research, we found that seven mutational sites in preC/C region of HBV were associated with independent risk factors for postoperative survival in patients of HBV-HCC. The following five mutational sites were identified as statistically significant independent predictors of HBV-HCC survival: 1915, 2134, 2176, 2221, 2260. The mutational site of 1979 and 2245 were identified for the association with survival at a borderline significance level. Conclusions The portal vein thrombosis, tumor TNM classification, size and seven mutational sites in the PreC/C region were identified as independent predictors of postoperative survival in HCC patients. Key words: HBV-HCC; The preC/C region of HBV; HBV-DNA; Mutations; Prognosis