Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus among patients with cryptogenic chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis.

Many cases of chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis cannot be attributed to a known cause and are collectively referred to as cryptogenic chronic liver disease. We have evaluated the role of the hepatitis C virus in the pathogenesis of this condition in a retrospective serum analysis for antibody to hepatitis C virus in 129 patients with cryptogenic liver disease. Other causes of chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis were ruled out by clinical, serum biochemical and serological techniques. All 129 patients were HBcAg negative, but 28 (22%) had antibody to HBcAg. Sera were tested by radioimmunoassays using recombinant peptides for antibodies to nonstructural (C100-3 and C33c) and structural regions (C22) of HCV. Among the 129 patients, 61 (47%) had antibody to C100-3, 76 (59%) had antibody to C33c and 74 (57%) had antibody to C22. Seventy-nine (61%) were reactive with at least one and 76 (59%) were reactive with at least two HCV peptides (this is the criterion used for hepatitis C virus antibody reactivity). A proportion of patients with chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis (55 of 91; 60%) similar to that of patients without cirrhosis (21 of 38; 55%) had hepatitis C virus antibody. No significant clinical, serum biochemical or histological differences were noted between the group of patients with hepatitis C virus antibody and those without this antibody reactivity. Thus more than half the patients with cryptogenic chronic liver disease had hepatitis C virus antibody, suggesting that chronic HCV infection plays a major role in the origin of cryptogenic chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis.