Figure 2. Telomere (T/S ratio) shortening in liver biopsies at diagnosis (A) and after 4 months (B) of patients with HCC, who had either pre-existing serologically confirmed either HBV or HCV infection compared with HCC patients without pre-existing viral infection (HCC alone) or control subjects (P<0.001, ANOVA).

Patients did not receive any treatment (excluding supportive and palliative care) in the intervening period. Note that similar trend in telomere shortening persisted for 4 months.