الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Hepatitis C infection has a global prevalence of approximately 3%. More than 200 million people were infected. chronic hepatitis C is a chronic viral infection that can be cured by antiviral therapy but if untreated it can lead to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Importantly, successful antiviral treatment can prevent short- and long-term complications of HCV infection. chronic Hepatitis C is the most common cause of chronic liver disease and Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Egypt.
A pathogenic link with gut microbial dysbiosis has been described in different diseases e.g IBD, GI cancers, IBS and DM.
The aim of this study was to elucidate changes in gut microbiome in cirrhotic HCV Egyptian patients with and without HCC.
The study included 50 cirrhotic HCV patients; 25 with and 25 without HCC as well as 25 healthy controls with matched age and sex. Patients were recruited from Alexandria Main University Hospital. Stool specimens were taken from all participants and Quantitative SYBR Green Real-Time PCR technique targeting 16S rRNA was done for the identification and quantitation of selected bacterial phylum, genera and/or species.
Patients with malignancy other than HCC, HBV and other hepatic diseases were excluded from the study. Patients with recent surgical intervention of the small or large intestines within the last 6 months, infectious diarrhea including bacterial, viral and parasitic diarrhea, history of prolonged use of antibiotics, rifaximin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs abuse, corticosteroids for the last 3 months were also excluded from the study. Patients with autoimmune diseases, chronic renal diseases, diabetes mellitus, alcohol or substance addiction, or those unable to give consent were excluded from the study.