Prediction of hepatocellular carcinoma using fibro markers in Egyptian patients with chronic liver disease

Abstract

Objective The aim was to evaluate inflammatory and fibrosis markers as predictors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development among patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). Background Progression of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C is closely associated with the high risk of HCC development. Patients and methods This study was conducted on 100 patients suffering from liver cirrhosis as group A and 100 patients suffering from liver cirrhosis with HCC as group B from January 2018 to April 2019. Diagnosis of CLD was based on clinical, laboratory, and imaging evidence of CLD with and without hepatic decompensation or portal hypertension. Results Child–Pugh C patients was significantly more prevalent in HCC (37 vs 10% in liver cirrhosis cases). Serum hemoglobin, albumin, and leukocytic count were significantly lower in HCC cases. Also, α-fetoprotein, bilirubin international normalized ratio, and blood urea were highly significantly higher in the HCC group than the non-HCC group. King's score, fibro-quotient (Fibro Q), and FIB-4 scores were significantly higher in HCC than in cirrhotic cases, while blood red cells and Fibro-α scores were highly significantly higher in group B than in group A. Conclusion Our findings have shown the possibility to predict HCC development in Egyptian patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C by using noninvasive scores, (Fibro markers) as they performed well, cheap, and easy to perform.