Relation of hepatitis C virus to hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatitis C virus is an enveloped, single-stranded RNA virus with a positive stranded genome of about 9400 nucleotides. It probably belongs to the family of Flaviviridae which replicate via full-length, complementary, negative-stranded RNA. Hepatitis C virus is the predominant etiologic agent of non-A, non-B hepatitis around the world. It frequently leads to chronic hepatitis which may progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The currently available antibody assay for hepatitis C virus cannot distinguish between current and past hepatitis C virus infection. We developed a strand-specific reverse double polymerase chain reaction for detection of hepatitis C virus RNA (non-translated and non-structural sequences) in extracts of hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and the surrounding liver. Negative (replicative) and positive (genomic) strands of hepatitis C virus RNA were detected in both liver and tumor tissues in almost equal frequency and relative amounts. These data suggest that hepatitis C virus replicates in hepatocellular carcinoma cells and supports the epidemiologic evidence for an association between chronic hepatitis C virus infection and hepatocarcinogenesis.