الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract The rate of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasing in Egypt where the major risk factor is chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The development of effective markers for the detection of HCC could have an impact on cancer mortality and significant public health implications worldwide. The objective of this study is to investigate the role of interleukin-8, some antioxidants and some trace elements in Egyptian patients with hepatocellular carcinoma infected with hepatitis C virus. Methods: This study comprised 40 patients with HCC (20 with cirrhosis and 20 without cirrhosis) and 20 patients with hepatitis C virus. They were 39 males and 21 females with age range from 22 to 71 years. Twenty apparently healthy volunteers with matched age and sex were taken as control group. Serum concentration level of IL-8 was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The serum antioxidants were measured using spectrophotometric analysis and trace elements by using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Results: A highly significant elevation was found in interleukin-8, α- fetoprotein, iron and malondialdehyde in patients with HCC compared to control subjects. On the other hand, serum levels of reduced glutathione, catalase, superoxide dismutase, total antioxidant capacity and zinc were significantly decreased in patients with HCC compared to control subjects. A positive correlation was found between serum level of IL-8 and each of GSH (r=-0.534 and p= 0.000), SOD (r=-0.295 and p= 0.021), CAT (r=-0.545 and p= 0.000) and Zn (r=0.422 and p= 0.001) in all patients group. Conclusion: The ability to measure IL-8 in the serum could be useful as a prognostic marker of HCC patients. The levels of antioxidants such as CAT, SOD and GSH in HCC patients when compared to control group played a vital and important role in the prevention of complications of liver cancer. Interleukin-8, some antioxidants (MDA, GSH, CAT and SOD) and some trace elements (Fe and Zn) are suggested to be simultaneously evaluated in order to enhance the detection of HCC. |