HBV infection may lead to acute liver disease, chronic active hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Over 350 million people worldwide are estimated to be infected chronically by HBV and are therefore at risk of liver failure, cirrhosis, or hepatocellular carcinoma.

Liver hepatocarcinoma is a highly vascularized cancer, and more and more research is focused on the molecules controlling angiogenesis. In 2001, two novel peptides, known as prokineticin 1/EG-VEGF (PK1/EG-VEGF) and prokineticin 2/Bv8 (PK2/Bv8), were identified, as having potent angiogenic activities.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a cancer of cells in the liver, is on the rise in part due to the high prevalence of chronic hepatitis C infection, which increases the risk for the disease. Surgery is the only potential curative treatment for HCC and this study sought to determine the patterns of use for this treatment.