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Abstract Background To determine clinical-pathologic variables in patients with a new diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and underlying hepatitis B vs. C infection. Methods Patients presenting to a single urban hospital with a new diagnosis of HCC were entered into a clinical database. Variables including number and size of tumors, presence of metastases, serum alpha-Fetoprotein, hepatitis serologies, severity of hepatic dysfunction, and presence of cirrhosis were evaluated in 127 patients. Results Patients with hepatitis B (HBV) were more likely to develop HCC at a younger age than patients with hepatitis C (HCV) (HBV-26% under age 40, HCV-0% under age 40; p 5 cm, HCV-28% >5 cm; p Conclusions Significant clinical-pathologic differences exist among HCC patients with underlying HBV vs. HCV. These differences impact eligibility for potentially-curative therapy and prognosis.

Background: Underlying causes in Chinese children with recurrent acute liver failure (RALF), including liver crises less than full acute liver failure, are incompletely understood. We sought to address this by searching for genes mutated in such children.Methods: Five unrelated Chinese boys presenting between 2012 and 2015 with RALF of unexplained etiology were studied. Results of whole exome sequencing were screened for mutations in candidate genes. Mutations were verified in patients and their family members by Sanger sequencing. All 5 boys underwent liver biopsy.Results: NBAS was the only candidate gene mutated in more than one patient (biallelic mutations, 3 of 5 patients; 5 separate mutations). All NBAS mutations were novel and predictedly pathogenic (frameshift insertion mutation c.6611_6612insCA, missense mutations c.2407G > A and c.3596G > A, nonsense mutation c.586C > T, and splicing-site mutation c.5389 + 1G > T). Of these mutations, 3 lay in distal (C-terminal) regions of NBAS, a novel distribution. Unlike the 2 patients without NBAS mutations, the 3 patients with confirmed NBAS mutations all suffered from a febrile illness before each episode of liver crisis (fever-related RALF), with markedly elevated alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities 24-72 h after elevation of body temperature, succeeded by severe coagulopathy and mild to moderate jaundice.Conclusions: As in other countries, so too in China; NBAS disease is a major cause of fever-related RALF in children. The mutation spectrum of NBAS in Chinese children seems different from that described in other populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]