Health
Hepatitis B Linked to Cervical Cancer Risk
Recent research has shed light on the connection between Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and cervical cancer. According to a new study, individuals infected with HBV have a higher risk of developing cervical cancer, while no significant association with ovarian or endometrial cancers was found.
The study highlights the concerns over gynecologic cancers, particularly cervical cancer, which remains a prominent health issue for women. In the United States alone, around 20,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year, leading to about 13,000 deaths.
Researchers noted that HBV has long been recognized as a contributor to liver cancer, but recent findings suggest it may also increase the risk of other malignancies, including cancers outside the liver. There’s evidence that HBV can be present in reproductive organs and can be transmitted through sexual contact, similar to the human papillomavirus (HPV).
Despite ongoing studies, opinions on the relationship between HBV and gynecologic cancers have been conflicting. To clarify this, the researchers conducted a meta-analysis, looking at various studies to assess whether HBV infection influences the risk of gynecologic tumors.
The team sifted through extensive research from databases like PubMed and Cochrane Library and found that out of 775 initial studies, only seven met their criteria for high-quality analysis. These included five case-control studies and two cohort studies, primarily based in Asia.
Overall, they discovered that cervical cancer was significantly linked to HBV infection, particularly in Asian women. The pooled analysis suggested an odds ratio of 1.22, indicating a notable increase in risk.
In their research, they also evaluated endometrial and ovarian cancer risks but established that HBV did not seem to correlate with these cancers in a significant way. Interestingly, one case-control study did report a potential link to endometrial cancer in specific populations.
The researchers also acknowledged some limitations in their work, mainly the predominance of case-control studies, which can sometimes introduce bias. However, they expressed confidence in their findings, emphasizing the need for further studies to confirm their results.
