BACKGROUND Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a rare malignant tumor. The etiology of ICC remains poorly understood. Recently, hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been implicated as a potential risk factor for ICC, particularly in HBV-endemic areas. Elevation of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is seen in approximately 20 % of ICC patients. However, serum AFP levels higher than 10,000 ng/m...

BACKGROUND Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections are common and associated with significant morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. However, the incidence and risk factors of HBV reactivation in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are rarely investigated. METHODS AML patients followed-up at the National Taiwan University Hospital between 2006 and 2012 were analyzed. The clinical chara...

BACKGROUND AIMS Dried blood spots (DBS) on filter paper have been successfully used to diagnose and monitor several infectious diseases. The aim was to investigate the performance of DBS in hepatitis B virus (HBV) diagnosis using commercial tests in comparison to standard methods. METHODS Paired DBS and plasma samples were collected from 200 patients: 100 patients with HBsAg negative status a...

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to retrospectively investigate and compare multidetector computed tomography findings of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-positive and -negative patients. METHODS Triphasic (arterial, portal venous, and delayed phases) dynamic multidetector computed tomography (CT) was performed in 83 patients with HCC, 48 of whom were HBV-po...

BACKGROUND Despite the high burden, there is a dearth of (long-term) outcome data of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infected patients receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) in a clinical setting in resource-constrained settings, particularly from Asia. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study including all adults initiating standard ART (non-tenofovir-based)...

Hepatitis outbreaks in hemodialysis (HD) patients and staff were reported in the late 1960s, and a number of hepatotropic viruses transmitted by blood and other body fluids have been identified. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) was the first significant hepatotropic virus to be identified in HD centers. HBV infection has been effectively controlled by active vaccination, screening of blood donors, the u...

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequent tumors worldwide with an increasing incidence. The exploration of biomarkers for HCC is one of the main aims for improving the efficacy of diagnosis and treatment. The microarray technology provides a high-throughput platform for parallel exploration of biomarkers for clinics. In this study, we used antibody microarrays to screen the no...

This study was designed to investigate the role of serum GP73 for diagnosing significant fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections. Two populations were enrollment. All subjects were patients with chronic HBV infections. First population included 761 patients, who received liver stiffness measurement; the second population included 633 patients, who undertaken liver b...

Evidence has shown that liver disease caused by hepatitis viruses can be more aggressive and severe in HIV infected subjects. Therefore, the present cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence of HDV infection among HIV/HBV co-infected clients in Shiraz, southwest Iran. In this study, 178 patients co-infected with HBV and HIV individuals were enrolled. The diagnosis of HIV infect...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The purpose of this article is to provide a brief overview of the events involved in honeybee allergy and to concisely update the reader on progress toward knowledge of honeybee venom (HBV), strides in solving diagnostic difficulties, and advancements in improving safety and efficacy of HBV immunotherapy. RECENT FINDINGS It is well known that honeybee allergy is unique in ve...