Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Pancreatic Cancer: A Case-control Study in Southern China

Background: The association of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and pancreatic cancer is still controversial. The purpose of this study is to determine whether chronic HBV infection increases the risk.
Methods: In this case-control study, there were 1,066 patients recruited, with 533 in the study group and 533 controls, frequencymatched for age and sex. Blood samples were collected to detect hepatitis viral infection.
Results: Compared to 77 patients (14.4%) in the control group, 80 pancreatic cancer patients (15.0%) were seropositive for HBV surface antigen (not statistically significant, P=0.8). The prevalence of HBV e antigen was higher in study group than that of control group ( P=0.03). Further analysis indicated that HBeAg was a risk factor for pancreatic cancer (OR=2.935, 95% CI: 1.048-8.220).
Conclusions: In HBV endemic area of China, there appears to be no significant association between chronic HBV infection and pancreatic cancer, but the role of HBeAg needs further exploration.