Risk for hepatocellular carcinoma, a primary malignancy of the liver, was statistically significantly higher among women with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection than among women without the virus, according to a study published online June 17 in the JNCI.

Because hepatocellular carcinoma mostly occurs in men, few women have been included in long-term studies of the association between HBV infection and this carcinoma.

The more children a woman had, the lower her risk appeared to be. This inverse relationship between parity and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma was statistically significant. “Underlying biological mechanisms responsible for this…merit further investigation,” the authors write.

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