Role of Preoperative Viral Load and Presence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the Biliary Complications After Liver Transplantation Due to Hepatitis C Virus

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the most epidemic viral infections in the world. Three-quarters of individuals infected with HCV become chronic. As a consequence of persistent inflammation, a considerable percentage of chronic patients progress to liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and finally hepatocellular carcinoma. Cytokines, which are particularly produced from T-helper cells, play a crucial role in immune protection against HCV and the progression of the disease as well. In this study, the role of interleukins IL-33, IL-17, and IL-25 in HCV patients and progression of disease from chronicity to hepatocellular carcinoma will be characterized in order to use them as biomarkers of disease progression. The serum levels of the tested interleukins were measured in patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C (CHC), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and healthy controls (C), and their levels were correlated to the degree of liver fibrosis, liver fibrosis markers and viral load. In contrast to the IL-25 serum level, which increased in patients suffering from HCC only, the serum levels of both IL-33 and IL-17 increased significantly in those patients suffering from CHC and HCC. In addition, IL-33 serum level was found to increase by liver fibrosis progression and viral load, in contrast to both IL-17 and IL-25. Current results indicate a significant role of IL-33 in liver inflammation and fibrosis progress in CHC, whereas IL-17 and IL-25 may be used as biomarkers for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Download Full-text

Telaprevir-containing regimen for treatment of hepatitis C virus infection in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma awaiting liver transplantation: a case series

Journal of Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

10.2147/jhc.s60867 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 109 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Harrys Antonio Torres ◽

Ahmed Kaseb ◽

Parag Mahale ◽

Ethan Miller ◽

Catherine Frenette

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Liver Transplantation ◽

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

Virus Infection ◽

Case Series ◽

Hepatitis C Virus Infection

Download Full-text

Review Viruses in cancer cell plasticity: the role of hepatitis C virus in hepatocellular carcinoma

Współczesna Onkologia ◽

10.5114/wo.2014.47132 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 1A ◽

pp. 62-67

Author(s):

Urszula Hibner ◽

Damien Grégoire

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

Cancer Cell ◽

Cell Plasticity

Download Full-text

Hepatocellular carcinoma in patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation: radiological findings with anatomopathological correlation in Brazil

Arquivos de Gastroenterologia ◽

10.1590/s0004-28032006000100008 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 43 (1) ◽

pp. 24-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Antônio Carlos Maciel ◽

Carlos Thadeu Cerski ◽

Roger Klein Moreira ◽

Vinicius Labrea Resende ◽

Maria Lúcia Zanotelli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Computed Tomography ◽

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Liver Transplantation ◽

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

Orthotopic Liver Transplantation ◽

Imaging Techniques ◽

Arterial Phase ◽

Hepatitis C Virus Infection ◽

Cirrhotic Patients

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide. Imaging techniques, specially computed tomography and ultrasound, are among the most useful diagnostic tools, although the accuracy of these methods may have a significant variability. AIMS: To determine the prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation at "Santa Casa de Misericórdia" of Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; to estimate the sensitivity of computed tomography and ultrasound in pretransplantation detection of hepatocellular carcinoma in this population; to correlate the radiological characteristics with anatomopathological findings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective prevalence study. Population: adult, cirrhotic patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation from January 1990 to July 2003. Among the 292 transplanted patients, 31 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma were diagnosed, of which 29 were included in the study. Tumor characteristics in both ultrasound and computed tomography were compared to those observed in anatomopathological examination. RESULTS: Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among patients with diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma was 93.5%, and the prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma among transplanted patients was 10.6%. The overall sensitivity of the imaging techniques was 70.3% for computed tomography and 72% for ultrasound. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma at our institution, as well as the sensitivity of both ultrasound and computed tomography to detect such tumors at pretransplantation screening were similar to those found by other authors, while the prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection, the most common etiological agent for liver disease in our patients, is one of the highest ever reported in literature. Factors influencing hepatocellular carcinoma detection rates were: time from examination to liver transplantation; acquisition of computed tomography images during arterial phase; lesion size. Arterial phase proved to be the most useful part of computed tomography examination in this study.

Download Full-text