Hepatitis C and B viruses, and their association with hepatocellular carcinoma in Egypt

Hepatitis C and B viruses are associated with hepatocellular carcinoma in Europe, Asia and Southern Africa. A study of hepatitis C and hepatitis B virus infection was carried out on 70 patients with HCC, from the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University. Sera from patients were tested for anti-HCV and HBsAg markers. Twenty patients (30%) were anti HCV positive alone, 15 (21.4%) were HBsAg positive alone, 28 (40%) were positive for both anti-HCV and HBsAg and the remaining 6 patients (8.6%) were negative for the two markers. The total positivity for anti-HCV and for HBsAg in these patients was 70% and 61.4% respectively. The comparable figures in a recent study on 90 blood donors from Egypt, were 24.4% for anti-HCV and 4.4% for HBSAg. These data suggest a possible link between HCV and HBV infection and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in Egypt, as has been found elsewhere in the world.