Seroprevalence and clinical outcome of hepatitis D infection in Qatar

Background: Worldwide, 5–10% of people with chronic hepatitis B virus infection are co-infected with hepatitis D virus. In Qatar, there are no data on hepatitis D virus infection among patients positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Aims: To determine the seroprevalence of hepatitis D virus infection among patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection in Qatar and assess the characteristics of these patients. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of all HBsAg-positive individuals tested for hepatitis D virus between 1 January 2010 and 29 December 2019 within the Hamad Medical Corporation. Data were retrieved from electronic records and included demographic and clinical information of the patients. Results: Of the 2348 HBsAg-positive patients, 125 were positive for hepatitis D virus (seroprevalence 5.3%). The median age of hepatitis D positive patients was significantly higher than for hepatitis D negative patients (P = 0.001). Most of the patients with hepatitis D had a hepatitis B viral load < 2000 IU/mL (53.6%) and were negative for hepatitis B e antigen (93.6%). A significantly greater proportion of hepatitis D positive patients than hepatitis D negative patients were infected with hepatitis C virus (P < 0.001) and had liver cirrhosis (P < 0.001) and hepatocellular carcinoma (P = 0.006). Conclusions: Hepatitis D virus infection is associated with lower hepatitis B virus viraemia and more advanced liver disease in the study population.

Cancer Prevention and Control in the WHO African Region

1. Cancer is an emerging public health problem in the WHO African Region. According toGlobocan,1 there were 582 000 new cancer cases in sub-Saharan Africa in 2002. The commonestcancers in men are Kaposi’s sarcoma and cancers of the liver and prostate gland; in women cancersof the cervix and breast and Kaposi’s sarcoma are the commonest.2. In developed countries, one third of cancers are preventable, one third are curable and theremaining one third are incurable. The situation in Africa is quite different with 80%–90% of cancercases being incurable at presentation, 10%–15% curable when given appropriate treatment and lessthan 5% preventable. In 2002, 412 100 people in sub-Saharan Africa died from cancer. If nointerventions are put in place, it is projected that by the year 2020, the number of new cancer caseswill be 804 000 and the number of deaths due to cancer will be 626 400.3. The main risk factors for cancer are viral and other infectious conditions such as hepatitis,HIV/AIDS or schistomiasis; tobacco use; environmental pollution; unhealthy diet; excessive alcoholintake; age; and lack of physical exercise. Prevention frequently offers the most cost-effective longtermstrategy for cancer control. Preventive measures are doubly beneficial as they can alsocontribute to preventing other chronic diseases that share the same risk factors.

Implications of fructose in liver tumours of the Egyptian toad

Environmental factors play an important role in the etiology of several types of cancer; this discovery has led to a great deal of interest in the role of diet in cancer etiology. It is well known that some factories which produce jams and juices use fructose rather than glucose or sucrose to sweeten their products. This study demonstrates that fructose insignificantly enhances the incidence of liver tumours in Egyptian toads previously injected with 7,12-dimethylbenz [a]-anthracene