RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Jia, Jian’an A1 Li, Huiming A1 Wang, Hui A1 Chen, Shipeng A1 Wang, Mengmeng A1 Feng, Huijuan A1 Gao, Yuzhen A1 Wang, Yunjiu A1 Fang, Meng A1 Gao, ChunfangYR 2017 T1 Hepatitis B virus core antigen mutations predict post-operative prognosis of patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma JF Journal of General Virology, VO 98 IS 6 SP 1399 OP 1409 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/jgv.0.000790 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1465-2099, AB The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between hepatitis B virus (HBV) core antigen (HBc) mutations and the post-operative prognosis of HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In total, 98 patients suffering from HBV-related HCC and treated with surgery were enrolled, with a 48 month follow-up. The preCore/Core region of the HBV genome from tumour tissue (TT) and paired adjacent non-tumour tissue (ANTT) of these patients was sequenced, and a phylogenetic tree was reconstructed. The correlations between the viral features and evolutionary divergence of preCore/Core amino acid sequences from 67 paired TTs and ANTTs were analysed. Cox proportional hazard model analysis was applied for post-operative hazard risk evaluation. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all of the sequences were ascribed to genotype C. The evolutionary divergence of amino acid sequences from matched TTs and ANTTs was significantly negatively correlated with serum and intrahepatic HBV DNA levels. Multivariate analysis showed that the HBc E77 mutation was associated with shorter overall survival, and HBc S87 and P156 mutations were independent risk factors for relapse. Furthermore, in contrast to with patients without the S87 mutation, no correlation was observed between serum HBV DNA and intrahepatic HBV DNA in HCC patients with the S87 mutation. Analysis of the intrahepatic sequence may advance our understanding of viral status; thus, it is useful for prognosis prediction for HBV-related HCC., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/jgv.0.000790