Serum microRNA-122 Levels in Egyptian Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C virus Genotype 4 Infection before and after treatment with Direct Acting Antiviral Drugs

Abstract

In Egypt, liver cancer forms 11.75% of the malignancies of all digestive organs and 1.68% of the total malignancies. HCC constitutes 70.48% of all liver tumors among Egyptians. HCC represents the main complication of cirrhosis, and shows a growing incidence in Egypt.This is due to high prevalence of HCC infection in Egypt. HCV is the most important risk factor for HCC in Western Europe, North America and Japan. Epidemiological studies from these areas have shown up to 70% of patients with HCC have anti-HCV antibodies in their serum. In the Egyptian population, up to 90% of HCC cases were attributed to HCV infection. MicroRNAs are short, non-coding RNAs consisting of 18–25 nucleotides that are partially complementary to regulatory regions in the 3′ or, less commonly, in the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) of target messenger RNAs. MicroRNA dysregulation is involved in all stages of hepatocarcinogenesis, and microRNA profiles have the potential to discriminate patients with HCC from healthy subjects as well as those with other liver diseases. MiR-122 levels are frequently reduced in hepatocellular carcinoma compared to normal liver and low miR-122 levels correlate with poor prognosis.