The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a small enveloped DNA virus, which primarily infects
hepatocytes and causes acute and persistent liver disease. Epidemiological studies have
provided overwhelming evidence for a causal role of chronic HBV infection in the
development of hepatocellular carcinoma, but the molecular mechanisms underlying virally-
induced tumourigenesis remain largely debated. In the absence of a dominant oncogene
encoded by the HBV genome, indirect roles have been proposed, including insertional …