[Comparative study of positive and negative HBsAg hepatocellular carcinomas diagnosed in the State of Espírito Santo (Brazil)].
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C S Gonçalves.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
1. The occurrence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBs Ag) was investigated in 46 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) diagnosed in Vitória, Espírito Santo State, Brazil. 2. Twenty cases were patients in which the HCC was diagnosed by biopsy, laparoscopy or on autopsy from 1977 to 1980. HBs Ag was measured in the serum by reverse passive hemagglutination (13 cases) and radioimmunoassay (7 cases). Twelve cases (60%) were HBs Ag positive. 3. The presence of HBs Ag was studied in 26 cases diagnosed on autopsy using paraffin-embedded liver sections stained with orcein. Eleven cases (42%) showed orcein granules in hepatocytes surrounding the tumor. In only one case were orcein-positive granules detected in the tumor cells. 4. The 50% incidence of HBs Ag among patients with HCC is higher than the occurrence of HBs Ag in the general population of the State of Espírito Santo, i.e. 3.5% among 1300 blood donors to the University Hospital. 5. These data provide additional evidence for the hypothesis that there is a relationship between the hepatitis B virus and the etiology of HCC.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
In order to investigate epidemiological aspects of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Brazil, basic informations about cases diagnosed from January 1992 to December 1994 were requested to several medical centers of different Brazilian States. A simple questionnaire included age, sex, alcohol abuse (over 80g/day), associated liver cirrhosis, persistent HBV infection (HBsAg), HCV infection (anti-HCV) and serum levels of alpha fetoprotein. 287 cases, over 16 years old, from 19 medical centers of 8 States (Pará, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Espirito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul) were analysed. The results showed: (a) Mean age was 56.3 +/- 14.4 for men and 54.7 +/- 16.8 yr for women and the male/female ratio was 3.4:1. (b) 69.6% were caucasians, 21.8% mullatoes, 4.8% orientals and 3.7% blacks. (c) HBsAg (+) in 77/236 cases (41.6%) without differences between males and females. (d) Anti-HCV (+) in 52/193 cases (26.9%). (e) 7/180 cases were positive both for HBsAg and anti-HCV (3.8%). (f) There was chronic alcoholism in 88/235 cases (37%). (g) HCC was found in cirrhotic livers in 71.2% of 202 cases in which the presence or absence of cirrhosis was reported. (h) Alpha-fetoprotein above 20 ng/ml was found in 124/172 cases (72%) and above 500 ng/ml only in 40 cases (23.2%). These results showed that the HCC in Brazil has an intermediate epidemiological pattern as compared to those from areas of low and high incidence of the tumor. In spite of the high frequency of the association of HCC with the HBV and/or HCV infections, 42% of 180 cases were negative both for HBsAg and anti-HCV, indicating the possible role of other etiological factors. The comparison of data from different States showed some regional differences: higher frequency of associated HBsAg in Pará, Bahia, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, higher frequency of associated HCV infection in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and States of the Southern region and low frequency of associated liver cirrhosis in Salvador and Rio de Janeiro (55.5 and 50% respectively). Further investigation will be necessary to study the presence of other possible etiological factors as aflatoxins, suggested by the favourable climatic conditions for food contamination by fungi in the majority Brazilian regions.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the most frequent tumors in the world, is included by the World Health Organization as a relevant public health problem in areas of high incidence as Africa and Southeast of Asia. In this review it will be discussed: a) the close relationship between HCC and hepatitis B virus (HBV), the more universal but not the single etiologic factor having other carcinogens and co-carcinogens involved with the origen of the tumor; b) the great variation in geographic distribution of this tumor, including that of Brazil where the incidence of HCC, including the new macroscopic classification according to the pattern of growth and general with liver cirrhosis in all countries where the tumor is diagnosed; d) some morphological aspects of HCC, including the new macroscopic classification according to the pattern of growth and general characteristics of small HCC; e) the clinical and biochemical aspects, calling attention to the evaluation of serum levels of alpha-fetoprotein, not always increased in patients with HCC, and the immage processing methods, specially ultrassonography, as methods for early diagnosis of HCC, being relevant in the follow-up of high risk patients (cirrhotics HBsAg (+]. Finally some comments are done about the therapeutic methods and perspectives of reduction in the incidence of the tumor with the use of vaccination against HBV infection.
The authors present a case of hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosed in a pregnant woman (four months pregnancy). The clinical evolution was complicated because of a severe hypoglicemia and the patient died 12 weeks after admission. The fetus died before a tentative of surgical delivery. The patient was HBsAg positive and five out of eight sons (inclusively the fetus), were HBsAg positive. There was not indication that the pregnancy had enhanced the tumor evolution.
The clinical, laboratorial and histological aspects of 50 cases of alcoholic hepatitis were analysed, as well as the follow-up of 24 patients. The mean age of the 50 patients was 42,9 years (range: 25 to 65 years); 44 were males. The beginning of the symptomatology was insidious in great number of cases. The hepatomegaly was most habitual clinical signal (92% of cases). The jaundice was observed in 58% of the cases. Twenty six per cent of the patients had not manifestation of advanced hepatopaty at the moment of diagnosis. The most constant laboratorial alteration (except the increase of gama-glutamil-transpeptidase, dosed in rare cases) was the increase of SGOT (94%). Histological examination showed necrosis and inflammatory exudate in all cases; steatosis in 98%; Mallory bodies in 78%; fibrosis in 84%; cirrhosis in 44%. In the group of patients that came to the obit at the first internation, jaundice, digestive bleeding, encephalopathy, infection, leucocitosis and decreased prothrombin activity. The follow-up of 24 cases (3 months to 5 years) showed aggravation of illness and frequent evolution to cirrhosis in patient that maintained the alcohol ingestion.
To study the effect of alcohol intake on the latency period for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in a country where this tumor occurs earlier in life than in Southeast of Asia, Europe or North America, 83 male patients with hepatocellular carcinoma aged over 30 years, in which the HBsAg status and ethanol intake were prospectively investigated, were analyzed with respect to age at the time of diagnosis. Only male patients were used because in Vitória, State of Espírito Santo, the age at the time of diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in females is significantly lower than in males. Only patients aged over 30 years were used because the tumor occurs in young people and children, in which habitual alcohol intake is not common. Forty-six patients with hepatocellular carcinoma HBsAg positive and 36 HBsAg negative were separated in alcohol abusers (daily ingestion above 80 g for a period of 10 years or more) or nonalcoholics. The occurrence of associated liver cirrhosis was determined for each group. For comparison of the average age of the four groups the Student t test and the Kruskall-Wallis test for two groups were used. The results showed that the average age of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma HBsAg positive with habitual alcohol intake was significantly lower than those without drinking habit (44.3 +/- 9.7 and 52.3 +/- 15.7 years; P = 0.011 and 0.028 respectively for Student t test and Kruskall-Wallis test). The average age of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma HBsAg (-) with or without habitual ethanol intake showed no significative differences (56.7 +/- 11.3 and 57.3 +/- 12.4 P > 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Two cases of primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the liver are presented, with comments about the main clinical and pathological aspects of the disease based on literature review. Both patients were woman (19 and 62 years old) and presented the same complaints: severe weight loss and presence of fast growing abdominal mass. In both cases the histologic diagnosis showed a non-Hodgkin, diffuse, large cell lymphoma (centroblastic-centrocytic diffuse lymphoma) with intermediate grade of malignancy. One case (19 years) died before treatment. The autopsy showed a large solitary tumor (18 cm in diameter) in the right liver lobe and two small nodules (1 cm) in the subcutaneous tissue of the abdominal wall. The other case (62 years), was treated by partial hepatectomy and chemotherapy. There was a round, solitary tumor (8 cm in diameter) in the left lobe. The patient remains without manifestations of disease relapse 18 months after the treatment. In both cases the tumor did not spread to lymph nodes, spleen and other viscera.