Genetic evaluation of the dysplasia-carcinoma sequence in chronic viral liver disease: a detailed analysis of two cases and a review of the literature

Summary cellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequent human malignancies, especially in Asia and Africa, but also in the Western world its incidence is increasing. HCC is a complication of chronic liver disease with cirrhosis as the most important risk factor. Viral co-pathogenesis due to hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection seems to be an important factor in the development of HCC. Curative therapy is often not possible due to the late detection of HCC. Thus, it is attractive to find parameters which predict malignant transformation in HBV- and HCV-infected livers. In the past decade, preneoplastic lesions, i.e. dysplastic foci or nodules, have gained interest as possible markers for imminent malignancy. Noteworthy, dysplastic liver lesions are increasingly detected by imaging techniques. We describe here two cases of chronic viral liver disease, one HBV- and one HCV-related, in which dysplastic lesions were present adjacent to HCC. In the HBV case, a (smaller) satellite of HCC was present as well. The neoplastic specimens were investigated by comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and in situ hybridization (ISH). Both methods revealed multiple genetic alterations in the HCCs. The genetic patterns of the HBV-related HCC and the satellite tumor showed many shared alterations suggesting a clonal relationship. A subset of genetic changes were already present in dysplasias illustrating their preneoplastic nature. Surrounding liver cirrhosis samples did not display chromosomal aberrations. A literature survey illustrates the relative paucity of information concerning genetic alterations in preneoplastic liver lesions. However, all the data strongly suggests a role for liver cell dysplasia as a precursor condition of liver cell cancer.