Table 1 Characteristics of the 128 HBsAg seropositive cancer patients undergoing cytotoxic chemotherapy
| Â | Patients who had hepatitis B viral reactivation during chemotherapy | Patients who did not develop hepatitis B viral reactivation during chemotherapy | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
Total no. of patients | 36 | 92 | Â |
Sex * | |||
 Male | 16 (28.6%) | 40 (71.4%) | 1.0000 |
 Female | 20 (27.8%) | 52 (72.2%) |  |
Median age (years) | 46.5 | 49 | 0.2654 |
 Range | 30–71 | 20–78 |  |
Tumour type * | |||
 Breast cancers | 16 (41.0%) | 23 (59.0%) |  |
 Lymphomas | 7 (58.3%) | 5 (41.7%) |  |
 Gastrointestinal cancers | 2 (6.9%) | 27 (93.1%) | 0.0041 |
 Head and neck cancers | 5 (29.4%) | 12 (70.6%) |  |
 Lung cancers | 3 (23.1%) | 10 (76.9%) |  |
 Other cancers | 3 (16.6%) | 15 (83.4%) |  |
Pretreatment (baseline) biochemistry | |||
 Median ALT levels (normal <58 iu l−1) | 35 (range: 12–77) | 27 (range: 10–96) | 0.1025 |
 Median total bilirubin levels (normal <15 μmol l−1) | 7 (range: 2–26) | 7 (range: 1–108) | 0.9639 |
 Median albumin levels (normal >40 g l−1) | 35 (range: 22–43) | 36 (range: 20–47) | 0.8421 |
Use of anthracyclines | |||
 Yes | 19 (46.3%) | 22 (53.7%) | 0.0029 |
 No | 17 (19.5%) | 70 (80.5%) |  |
Use of steroids | |||
 Yes | 22 (39.3%) | 34 (61.2%) | 0.0174 |
 No | 14 (19.4%) | 58 (80.6%) |  |
Use of fluorouracil | |||
 Yes | 14 (23.0%) | 47 (77.0%) | 0.2419 |
 No | 22 (32.8%) | 45 (67.2%) |  |
HBeAg status * | |||
 Positive | 4 (26.7%) | 11 (73.3%) | 1.0000 |
 Negative | 32 (28.3%) | 81 (71.7%) |  |
HBV DNA-real-time PCR assay * | |||
 Detectable | 31 (37.8%) | 51 (62.2%) | 0.0010 |
 Undetectable | 5 (10.9%) | 41 (89.1%) |  |
