Korean J Hepatol.  2010 Mar;16(1):49-56. 10.3350/kjhep.2010.16.1.49.

The relationship between hepatitis B virus infection and the incidence of pancreatic cancer: a retrospective case-control study

• Hong SG
• Kim JH
• Lee YS
• Yoon E
• Lee HJ
• Hwang JK
• Jung ES
• Joo MK
• Jung YK
• Yeon JE
• Park JJ
• Kim JS
• Bak YT
• Byun KS

• KMID: 1782220
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3350/kjhep.2010.16.1.49

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
An association between past history of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and pancreatic cancer (PC) has recently been reported. We investigated whether HBV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are associated with the development of PC in Korea.
METHODS
We retrospectively recruited patients with PC and sex- and, age-matched control patients with stomach cancer (SC) during the previous 5 years. Serum HBsAg and anti-HCV were examined, and data on smoking, alcohol intake, diabetes, and the history of chronic pancreatitis (CP) were collected.
RESULTS
A total of 506 PC and 1008 SC were enrolled, with respectively 58.1% and 97.3% of these cases being confirmed histologically. The mean age and sex ratio (male:female) were 63.5 years and 1.5:1 in the PC patients and 63.9 years and 1.5:1 in the SC patients respectively (P>0.05). The odds ratios (95% confidence interval, 95% CI) in univariate analysis were 0.90 (0.52-1.56; P=0.70) for HBsAg, 1.87 (0.87-4.01; P=0.11) for anti-HCV, 2.66 (2.04-3.48; P<0.001) for the presence of diabetes, 2.30 (1.83-2.90; P<0.001) for smoking, 1.14 (0.89-1.46; P=0.31) for alcohol intake, and 4.40 (1.66-11.66; P=0.003) for the history of CP. Independent risk factors for PC were presence of diabetes (OR, 2.67; 95% CI, 2.00-3.56; P<0.001), smoking (OR, 2.49; 95% CI, 1.93-3.21; P<0.001) and history of CP (OR, 4.60; 95% CI, 1.56-13.53; P=0.006).
CONCLUSIONS
There was no significant association between seropositivity for HBsAg or anti-HCV and PC. Further studies are warranted to clarify the association between HBV infection and PC in regions where HBV is endemic.

Keyword

Hepatitis B virus; HBsAg; Anti-HCV; Pancreatic cancer

MeSH Terms

Aged
Case-Control Studies
Data Interpretation, Statistical
Female
Hepatitis B/*complications/diagnosis
Hepatitis C/complications/diagnosis
Humans
Incidence
Male
Middle Aged
Odds Ratio
Pancreatic Neoplasms/diagnosis/*epidemiology/etiology
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors