A putative hepatitis B virus sequence motif associated with hepatocellular carcinoma in South African adults.
Maponga TG., McNaughton AL., Campbell C., de Cesare M., Mokaya J., Lumley SF., Bonsall D., Ip CL., Chai H., Van Rensburg C., Glashoff RH., Waddilove E., Preiser W., Blackard JT., Ansari MA., Kramvis A., Andersson MI., Matthews PC.
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In African populations, HCC frequently presents at an advanced stage with poor outcomes. We applied whole genome sequencing (WGS) to compare HBV genomes in individuals with and without HCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We identified adults with HBV infection, with and without complicating HCC, in Cape Town, South Africa. We generated HBV WGS using pan-genotypic probe-based enrichment followed by Illumina sequencing. RESULTS: Compared to the non-HCC group, HCC patients were more likely to be male (p