Prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B virus reactivation in patients with solid tumors with resolved HBV infection

BACKGROUND:Reports of hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation in solid tumors are very limited, and their frequencies and risk factors were previously unknown. AIM:To evaluate the prevalence and risk factors of HBV reactivation in patients with solid tumors with resolved HBV infection. METHODS:All 1088 patients with solid tumors were assessed for eligibility; 251 patients had resolved HBV infection (negative for HBs antigen and positive for anti-HBc antibody and/or positive for anti-HBs antibody), and HBV-DNA was assessed for 243 of these patients in whom we analyzed the prevalence of HBV reactivation. Risk factors for HBV reactivation were exploratorily evaluated by analysis of a case-control study. RESULTS:The prevalence of HBV-DNA reactivation was 2.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.3-3.9%). We did not observe any exacerbation of HBV-DNA by early intervention. A low anti-HBs antibody titer ( 1.0 mg/day) were high risk factors, with odds ratios of 5.94 (95% CI, 1.15-30.6, P = 0.03) and 8.69 (95% CI, 1.27-58.8, P = 0.02), respectively. CONCLUSION:HBV reactivation in solid tumor patients was relatively rare. Therefore, risk factors that can identify targets for HBV screening must be determined in future studies.