Hepatocellular carcinoma following chronic delta virus hepatitis in a patient cured of leukemia

Abstract
A 20-year-old patient with chronic delta virus hepatitis (CDVH), cured of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), developed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) 14 years after hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The association between chronic HBV infection and HCC is well known, but CDVH patients affected by HCC are rarely reported in literature. To our knowledge, the case we describe is the first HCC case reported in literature occurring in a young boy with CDVH. We could expect further similar cases, considering 1) the high prevalence of HDV infection in children affected by ALL in our series, 2) the previous ALL treatment, and 3) a possible natural predisposition to cancer.