Hepatitis Virus B is Not a Risk Factor in Hepatoblastoma Patients

Abstract

The prevalence of primary liver cancer varies throughout the world. Hepatoblastoma is the most common pediatric ‍liver malignancy, comprising approximately 1% of all pediatric cancers. The exact etiology of hepatoblastoma remains ‍undetermined. Concerning hepatitis B infection, whether there are links with hepatoblastoma is poorly documented. ‍Here, we summarize knowledge on the prevalence of hepatitis B seropositives among the patients with hepatoblastoma. ‍According to the literature review, six reports were recruited for metanalysis, with a total of 60 cases. The overall ‍prevalence of seropositive cancer was 3.3 % (2/560). Further analysis revealed no correlation between prevalence ‍rate and nationality of the studied population (P > 0.05). Therefore, hepatitis B infection does not appear to be a ‍contributing factor for hepatoblastoma. Further studies are needed to clarify which are the risk factors for the ‍hepatoblastoma.