Chronic hepatitis B virus （HBV） infection is a major cause of hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC）， with a population-attributable fraction of 57.1% for HCC globally and 76.1% for HCC in China. Identifying the early molecular mechanisms of HBV-driven hepatocarcinogenesis can facilitate precise HCC prevention. Persistent HBV replication， HBV mutation， HBV integration， and the synergistic interplay among them are the main mechanisms of HBV-driven hepatocarcinogenesis. HBV replication activates and sustains a chronic hepatic inflammatory microenvironment， providing conditions for accumulation of viral mutations； under the conditions of chronic inflammation， inflammatory factors cause the imbalance between apolipoprotein B messenger RNA editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide-like 3B and uracil-DNA glycosylase， which promotes HBV mutations and human genomic mutations and enhances the carcinogenic effect of HBV mutations， and the inflammatory microenvironment can promote dedifferentiation of mutated cells and acquisition of stemness； HBV genome integration can cause “gate-keeper” mutations including telomerase reverse transcriptase （TERT） promoter mutation， thereby triggering chromosomal instability and epigenetic reprogramming. The three events of HBV replication， mutation， and integration work synergistically under the evolutionary principle of “variation-selection-adaptation” and jointly drive the development and progression of HCC. The high-risk HBV mutation profile， circulating HBV integration fragments， and the TERT promoter mutations can be used to guide precision HCC prevention via antiviral prophylaxis and assist in early screening and monitoring of postoperative recurrence， which provides a scientific basis for refining stratified prevention and control strategies against HCC.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of stone needle thermocompression and massage compared to flurbiprofen gel patch in relieving chronic musculoskeletal pain in the shoulder and back， and to explore the potential mediating mechanism through muscle elasticity. MethodsA total of 120 patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain in the shoulder and back were randomly assigned to either stone needle group or flurbiprofen group， with 60 patients in each. The stone needle group received stone needle thermocompression and massage for 30 minutes， three times per week； the flurbiprofen group received flurbiprofen gel patch twice daily. Both groups were treated for 2 weeks. Pain improvement， as the primary outcome， was assessed using the Global Pain Scale （GPS） at baseline， after 2 weeks of treatment， and again 2 weeks post-treatment. To explore potential mechanisms， a mediator analysis was conducted by measuring changes in superficial and deep muscle elasticity using musculoskeletal ultrasound at baseline and after the 2-week treatment period. ResultsThe stone needle group showed significantly greater pain relief than the flurbiprofen group 2 weeks post-treatment. After adjusting for confounders related to pain duration， the between-group mean difference was -8.8 ［95% CI （-18.2， -0.7）， P＜0.05］. Part of the therapeutic effect was mediated by changes in deep muscle elasticity， with a mediation effect size of -1.5 ［95% CI （-2.0， -0.9）， P = 0.024］， accounting for 17.9% of the total effect. ConclusionStone needle thermocompression and massage can effectively relieve chronic musculoskeletal pain in the shoulder and back， partly through a mediating effect of improved deep muscle elasticity.