Hepatitis Be antigen and antibody in chronic liver diseases and hepatocellular carcinoma.

The presence of hepatitis Be antigen (HBeAg) and antibody (anti-HBe) was investigated by immunodiffusion in 144 patients with chronic liver disease, and 129 with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Most of the patients were HBsAg-positive. In 62 patients with chronic active viral hepatitis B, 17 (27%) were positive for HBeAg and 25 (40%) for anti-HBe. HBeAg and anti-HBe were not related to the degree of histological activity or serum alanine aminotransferase activities, but were related more frequently to higher HBsAg titer and younger age; whereas anti-HBe generally correlated in an opposite manner. Two patients seroconverted from HBeAg to anti-HBe in 13 and 20 months respectively. HBs antigenemia was not eliminated in either HBeAg or anti-HBe positive patients. The prolonged interval in seroconversion and an age-related declining frequency of HBeAg, accompanied by a reciprocal increase in anti-HBe in chronic infection, suggest anti-HBe as a chronologic indicator in HBs antigenemia in chronic HBsAg carriage. In HCC, regardless of coexisting cirrhosis, a predominant frequency of anti-HBe (62%) was found as in cirrhosis (54%), suggesting longstanding HBsAg carriage in these patients.