The Role of Hepatitis C virus and Possible Risk factors in development of Hepatocellular carcinoma: 400 Patients based study

Abstract

Background and aimsHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the commonest tumors and considered the fifth most common malignant neoplasm and a major cause of death. Egypt has increased incidence of HCC cases, as Egypt has the highest prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The aim was to study the epidemiological characteristics of HCC in Assiut, Egypt.Patients and methodsA descriptive observational study design was applied for the present study. The studied population was 400 patients with HCC (288 of them were male and 112 were female) who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for HCC. Data were analyzed for exploring the clinical, etiological, radiological, and tumor characteristics of the studied patients.ResultsThe mean age of the patients was 59.85±9.1 years. Most cases (68%) were from rural areas, 38% of the patients were in agricultural occupation, and 32% of the patients were accidentally discovered to have HCC .The most frequent symptom was abdominal pain (15%). HCV antibody was present in 63% of the patients, HBV infection was recorded in 28%, coinfection was seen in 3%, and no viral infection was present in 6%. Diabetes mellitus was present in 37% and obesity in 24% of the patients. Right lobe of the liver was the most frequent affected lobe (61%), and 69% of the cases had a single lesion.ConclusionHCC incidence had been increasing in the past years in Egypt. The high prevalence of HCV infection in Egypt makes the surveillance strategies important for early detection of HCC in these patients to provide better curative treatment modalities in the early stages.