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We report a stricture occurring during chemotherapy for malignant lymphoma that was successfully treated by endoscopic balloon dilation. The patient was diagnosed with stage IV malignant lymphoma by esophagogastroduodenoscopy and computed tomography scans. She complained of nausea and vomiting after undergoing the second cycle of chemotherapy. A small intestinal series through an ileus tube showed severe stricture of the ileum. Endoscopic balloon dilation was successfully performed with single-balloon endoscopy. After the procedure, her symptoms subsided and did not recur even 8 months after endoscopic dilation therapy.

Pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) is generated from covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and plays important roles in viral genome amplification and replication. Hepatic pgRNA and cccDNA expression levels indicate viral persistence and replication activity. This study was aimed to measure hepatic pgRNA and cccDNA expression levels in various states of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Thirty-eight hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, including 14 positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and 24 negative for HBsAg but positive for anti-hepatitis B core (anti-HBc) antibody, were enrolled in this study. In HBsAg-negative but anti-HBc-positive group, HBV-DNA was detected in 20 of 24 (83%) noncancerous liver tissues for at least two genomic regions based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. pgRNA and cccDNA expression levels in occult HBV-infected patients were significantly lower than those in HBsAg-positive patients (P