ASSESSMENT OF THE ROLE OF INTERLUKIN-6 IN DIAGNOSIS OF HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA

Abstract

SUMMARY H epatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major type of primary liver cancer and one of the most frequent human malignant neoplasms. It is estimated to cause more than a quarter of a million deaths each year throughout the world. There is an evidence of the key role of the pleiotropic cytokine IL-6 in the process of liver damage and carcinogenesis The aims of the present work were to asses the value of serum level of interlukin-6 in patients with chronic liver disease and its level in patients with HCC, and to evaluate its sensitivity and specificity in comparison to AFP in diagnosis of HCC. This study was done in co-operation between The Professor Doctor Yassin Abdel Gaffer Charity Center for Liver Disease and Research and Kafr-El Sheikh Hepatology Research Center, in the period from May 2013 to July 2014. The study was performed on three groups of Egyptian patients, Group I consisted of twenty five patients with chronic liver disease, included 16 male patients and 9 female patients Group II consisted of twenty five patients diagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma (with serum alpha-fetoprotein above 200ng/ml) included 24 male patients and 1 female patient and Group III consisted of twenty five patients diagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma (with serum alpha-fetoprotein below 200ng/ml) included 15 male patients and 10 female patients.