THE EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS-RELATED HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA BY CERTAIN MICRO RNAS BIOMARKERS IN EGYPTIAN PATIENTS

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the very frequent malignancies that has poor prognosis. In Egypt, HCC occurs mainly in the background of chronic infection with HCV. Early diagnosis or prediction of HCC development is crucial for proper management. Therefore, this study aimed to detect the expression levels of miRNA-122 and miRNA-483 in sera from Egyptian patients with HCV-related HCC and their potential usefulness as biomarkers for early diagnosis of HCC. The results obtained from this study can be summarized in the following points: 1) The demographic data: The study includes individuals divided into three groups according to the results of abdominal ultrasonography, spiral CT scan and laboratory investigation: First group is cirrhosis group included 20 cases whose age ranged from 40 to 79 years. They were 15 males representing 75% and 5 females representing 25%. Second group is HCC group included 20 cases whose age ranged from 30 to 80 years. They were 16 males representing 80% and 4 females representing 20%. Third group is control group including 10 cases whose age ranged from 48 to 61 years. They