High hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA viral load is an important risk factor for HBV reactivation in breast cancer patients undergoing cytotoxic chemotherapy

S Zhong, W Yeo, C Schroder, PK Chan, WL Wong, WM Ho, F Mo, B Zee, Philip Johnson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

87 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation during cytotoxic chemotherapy for cancer may complicate treatment and cause liver damage. The complication has been reported to occur in 10% to over 50% of HBV carriers, but the factors that determine which patients will develop reactivation remain unclear. The objective of the study is to test the hypothesis that the prechemotherapy HBV DNA level is a risk factor for the development of HBV reactivation. We studied 41 women undergoing cytotoxic chemotherapy for breast cancer, 17 of whom developed reactivation and 24 who did not. We developed a novel, ultra-sensitive, real-time polymerase chain reaction assay for the measurement of HBV DNA. The sera of 37 patients (16 who developed reactivation and 21 who did not) were available for measurement of HBV DNA using this technique. The results showed that patients in the reactivation group had a significantly higher median HBV DNA load (1.03 x 10(6) copies/mL; range
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)55-59
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of viral hepatitis
Volume11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2004

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