Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C Infection Biomarkers and TP53 Mutations in Hepatocellular Carcinomas from Colombia.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Globally, the most important HCC risk factors are Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and/or Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), chronic alcoholism, and dietary exposure to aflatoxins. We have described the epidemiological pattern of 202 HCC samples obtained from Colombian patients. Additionally we investigated HBV/HCV infections and TP53 mutations in 49 of these HCC cases. HBV biomarkers were detected in 58.1% of the cases; HBV genotypes F and D were characterized in three of the samples. The HCV biomarker was detected in 37% of the samples while HBV/HCV coinfection was found in 19.2%. Among TP53 mutations, 10.5% occur at the common aflatoxin mutation hotspot, codon 249. No data regarding chronic alcoholism was available from the cases. In conclusion, in this first study of HCC and biomarkers in a Colombian population, the main HCC risk factor was HBV infection.