May 16, 2001

Alcohol Intake Exacerbates Cancer Risk In HCV Patients

May 16th, 2001—Researchers in Japan report alcohol use changes the nature of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, making patients more susceptible to developing liver cancer.

Hepatocellular carcinoma, a primary form of liver cancer, is associated with a number of risk factors, including HCV infection. Niigata University School of Medicine researchers have determined that alcohol intake changes the characteristics of the hypervariable region 1 of HCV, increasing the odds for liver cancer onset and possibly decreasing the effectiveness of interferon therapy.

“To investigate the possible mechanism of these effects by alcohol, we examined 31 cases of HCV-related chronic liver diseases of which 17 cases were drinking just before admission and the remaining 14 cases were non-drinkers,” described Kou Takahashi and colleagues.

Of the 31 study participants, 18, six, and seven of the patients, respectively, had chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, or liver cancer. Researchers studied the hypervariable region 1 and quantified HCV viral load in each patient.
According to Takahashi and coworkers, indicators for quasispecies complexity in the hypervariable region 1 of alcohol users were elevated as compared with non-drinkers.

“The significant increase in alcoholics remained, even if the cases were restricted to males (p<0.01), to HCV genotype 1b (p<0.05) or to chronic hepatitis (p<0.05),” reported Takahashi and associates.

There were no significant differences in viral load between the two groups, but investigators identified more random mutations in hypervariable region 1 in alcohol consumers ("Difference in quasispecies of the hypervariable region 1 of hepatitis C virus between alcoholic and non-alcoholic patients," J Gastroenterol Hepatol, April 2001;16(4):416-423).

“The enhanced quasispecies complexity in hypervariable region 1 of HCV in alcoholics may be the main cause of more progressive HCV-related chronic liver diseases, and may provide the disease the resistance against any therapeutic modalities including interferon,” these researchers proposed.

Key points reported in this study include:

• Alcohol increases the progression to liver cancer in HCV patients
• More random mutations are observed in the hypervariable region 1 of HCV patients who consume alcohol
• Increased quasispecies complexity of the hypervariable region 1 in HCV-infected alcohol drinkers may cause increased liver disease

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