Viral factors and outcomes of chronic HBV infection.

Viral factors associated with outcome of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection include hepatitis B e antigen status, HBV DNA, genotype, and HBV variants. Mutations in the HBV core promoter region have been shown to be independently associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The most common core promoter mutations involve a double substitution A1762T and G1764A (TA). Besides TA mutations, several other core promoter changes have been reported to be associated with the development of cirrhosis and HCC. Future studies should determine if detection of these changes can predict the outcome of patients with chronic HBV infection.