Hepatitis B antigen in liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Postmortem diagnosis of liver cirrhosis was made over a one-year period in 43 cases, 18 of which also exhibited hepatocellular carcinoma. Blood samples taken from these and 120 other patients who died from other diseases were tested for hepatitis-B antigen (HB-Ag) and its antibodies (HB-AB) by counter-electrophoresis. The types of cirrhosis found were classified on the basis of morphological characteristics and available etiological data. The greater part of controls had had cardiovascular diseases and 32 had had non-hepatic carcinoma. Age limits were similar in the cirrhotic and control groups. HB-Ag was detected in 5 of the 25 subjects with macronodular cirrhosis and in one alcoholic patient among 18 subjects with other types of cirrhosis. The possibility of a coincidental HB virus infection existed in the alcoholic case and in one case of macronodular cirrhosis. Only one patient with liver carcinoma had HB-Ag. Among the 120 controls, HB-Ag and HB-AB were found in a one case. Microscopic lesions did not seem to be related specifically to the presence of HB-Ag in the cirrhotic livers.