Relationship of hepatitis B antigen in cirrhosis and hepatoma in Thailand. An etiological significance.

A study of 221 patients revealed that detectable hepatitis B surface antigen (HBS Ag) was found in 16.3% of 49 patients who had hepatoma associated with cirrhosis. None of the 8 hepatoma patients without cirrhosis had detectable HBS Ag in the serum. When known causes of cirrhosis were excluded, HBS Ag was present in 18% of 22 patients. Positive alpha-1-fetoprotein (AFP) was found in 25 of 49 cases (51%) of hepatoma with cirrhosis but was found only in 1 of 8 cases (12.5%) of hepatoma without cirrhosis. Of 25 patients whose AFP was positive, HBS Ag was also present in 7. The latter was detected in only 1 of 24 patients in whom AFP was not detected. This study suggests that HBS Ag is closely associated with hepatomas in cirrhotic patients but not in noncirrhotic patients with hepatoma.