STUDY OF SERUM FETUIN A LEVEL IN PATEINTS WITH POST HCV LIVER CIRHOSIS WITH AND WITHOUT HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA

Abstract

Background: Measurement and assessment of the levels of glycoprotein as fetuin-A which provides insights into the pathogenic mechanisms of various liver diseases and improved capability to identify disease- specific profiles of proteins leads to more accurate prediction of disease classes and development of novel treatments. Aim of the work: Assessment of diagnostic value of Fetuin –A in cases of liver cirrhosis due to HCV with and without HCC. Patients and methods: This study was conducted at the Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, during the period from November 2014 to Decmeber 2015 on 80 patients with liver cirrhosis due to chronic HCV infection. Two groups of post HCV patients with liver cirrhosis as a first group & post HCV liver cirrhosis with HCC as a second group; each group included 40 patients. The study also included 20 healthy subjects as a control. Patients who were excluded , those who had received antiviral therapy within 6 months before the study, subjects with high triglyceride or had received lipid lowering drugs, HBV infected patients, patients with medical history of ESRD, diabetes mellitus. Results: fetuin A was significantly lower in post HCV liver cirrhosis than a healthy control cases, fetuin-A was significantly lower in post HCV liver cirrhosis with HCC versus post HCV liver cirrhotic patients. Serum levels of fetuin A was a useful marker in post HCV liver cirrhosis with HCC ,with AFP levels below cutoff value. Serum levels of AFP was a useful marker in post HCV liver cirrhosis with HCC ,with fetuin-A levels above cutoff value. Conclusion: Serum fetuin-A level is decreasing in post HCV liver cirrhosis and liver cirrhosis with HCC than in healthy control with the lowest level in HCC. Post HCV liver cirrhosis with HCC cases which are not diagnosed by alph-fetoprotein can be captured by Fetuin A and vice versa. Also, the results show no significant correlations of fetuin-A with the CP scores and MELD score in post HCV liver cirrhosis