Australia antigen in Singapore Chinese patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and comparison groups: Influence of technique sensitivity on differential frequencies

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Abstract
In a previous study using electro‐osmodiffusion, the frequency of Australia antigen (Au) in Singapore Chinese patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (2.6%) was no higher than that in comparison groups. Three possible explanations for the apparent discrepancy between this result and the differentially higher Au frequencies reported by others have occurred to us. The first relates to differences in the sensitivities of the techniques employed for Au detection. A second possibility is that the age distribution of Singapore patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may differ from that of patients studied elsewhere. Thirdly, differences in Au frequencies may reflect real biological differences between HCC patients in various countries. In this series, using the more sensitive technique of immune adherence haemagglutination, the frequency of Au in HCC patients (35.3%) was more than four times higher than in any comparison group. These findings indicate that Chinese patients in Singapore have lower Au titres than appear to be present in African patients. The previous failure to detect a higher Au frequency in Singapore HCC patients relative to comparison groups can be explained by the difference in sensitivities of the techniques employed. Whether factors such as ethnic type contribute to geographic differences in the Au titres of HCC patients remains to be investigated.