摘要
Hepatitis E virus infection is usually a self-limited disease.However,during the last years there has been growing evidence for prolonged and chronic infection occurring in patients with immunosuppression.Also patients with malig-nant and rheumatic diseases have been identified to be at risk for chronic hepatitis E.However,their course and prognosis are not well characterized and there have been no reports of hepatitis E virus infection in patients with gynecological cancer.Here,we report three Caucasian females with breast and ovarian cancers presenting with elevation of amino-transferase levels during anticancer treatment.Although only few or no clinical hints suggested hepatitis E virus infection,the diagnosis of hepatitis E virus infection was confirmed by seroconversion,which might occur with some delay,and/or by polymerase chain reaction.While two patients had a self-limited course,the third patient with a high-risk oncological constellation required ribavirin in order to resume chemo-therapy.These cases highlight the need for hepatitis E virus testing in patients with gynecological cancer and elevated aminotransferase levels.Further,these cases show that in selected high-risk patients,ribavirin treatment may be nec-essary based on the decision of a multidisciplinary team.
基金
supported by the Berta-Ottenstein-Programme,Faculty of Medicine,University of Freiburg
作者简介
Correspondence to:Dominik Bettinger,Department of Medicine II,Medical Center University of Freiburg,Hugstetter Str.55,Freiburg 79106,Germany.Tel:+49-761-270-32440,Fax:+49-761-270-32440,E-mail:dominik.bettinger@uniklinik-freiburg.de,contributed equally to this work;Stefan Schlabe,contributed equally to this work
