الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Cirrhosis from any etiology is the strongest risk factor for HCC. HCC is the leading cause of death in patients with cirrhosis.
As the earlier the diagnosis of HCC, the better its prognosis, using several serum markers to detect the early diagnosis of HCC is highly recommended.
It was suggested that hepcidin hormone plays an important role in the progression of liver pathology and in cancer development, progression, and metastasis.
Accordingly, the present study aimed to assess the serum level of hepcidin as a potential biomarker for HCC in cirrhotic patients.
This was a case-control study conducted on patients who were admitted to the inpatient ward and the outpatient clinic of the Tropical Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University. The patients were divided into 3 groups; group I, including 30 cases of established cirrhotic patients without HCC. group II, including 30 cases of established cirrhotic patients with HCC, and group III, including 30 healthy controls of matched age and sex.
In the current work, patients’ age and sex were comparable in all studied groups.
Among cirrhotic and HCC patients, the most frequent symptoms were abdominal distention and pain, easy fatigue, and dyspepsia. We found that abdominal distension and pain, dyspepsia, yellow discoloration, and weight loss were significantly higher in cirrhotic patients with HCC, reflecting the problem of late presentation.
Ascites, hepatomegaly, and splenomegaly were significantly higher in cirrhotic patients with HCC than in cirrhotic patients without HCC (p= 0.001, 0.011, and <0.001, respectively).Lower limb edema was higher in HCC patients than in cirrhotic patients without HCC however, did not achieve a statistical difference.
ALT, AST, GGT, and ALP were significantly higher in cirrhotic patients with HCC compared to cirrhotic patients without HCC and controls that indicate deteriorating liver functions with HCC. While total bilirubin, serum albumin, prothrombin time, and INR were comparable in cirrhotic patients with and without HCC, however, both were significantly higher in cirrhotic patients with and without HCC than controls.
Hemoglobin and platelets were insignificantly different in HCC than in cirrhotic patients without HCC, but in both groups hemoglobin and platelets were significantly lower than controls. On the other hand, the leucocytic count was significantly lower in HCC patients than in cirrhotic patients and controls and also, in cirrhotic patients without HCC than control group.
Renal functions and fasting blood glucose were not significantly different in cirrhotic patients whether with or without HCC.
Most of the patients were classified into Child-Pugh score C (43.3%, for both groups). No statistically significant difference was reported between the two studied groups in terms of Child-Pugh score.