DETECTION OF IL-28 rs 12979860 GENE POLYMORPHISM BY REAL TIME PCR IN HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA PATIENTS.

Background:- Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. It commonly develops on cirrhotic livers, and surveillance programs have therefore been suggested to identify early HCC, at a stage when it remains suitable for surgical therapy and has a better clinical outcome. Aim:- This study aimed to investigate the association between rs12979860 SNP of IL-28 gene and prediction of HCC in Egyptian patients. Methods:- This study was conducted on a total number of 110 participants admitted to Hepatology and Gastroenterology Department in NHTMRI (National Hepatology& Tropical Medicine Research Institute). The participants of this study were divided into three groups as following; Group I: 30 cases CLD, Group II 30 patients LC group and Group III as HCC individuals, in addition to 20 healthy subjects (as controls).Liver enzymes activities and serum levels of total proteins, albumin, and alpha fetoprotein were measured. Also, Genotyping of IL-28B rs12979860 C/T allele Polymorphism was carried out using Real Time PCR. Results:- Our results showed in chronic hepatitis C group, the genotype CC represents 50%, while CT genotype was 36.4% and TT genotype represents only 13.6%. In cirrhosis group, the genotypes frequencies were as follow: CC (43.4%), CT (40%) and TT (16.6%), whereas, in HCC group, the TT genotype frequency increases up to 23.6% while the CT (40%) and CC genotype was only 36.4 %. The genotype TT was more frequent in HCC group in comparison to chronic hepatitis group (P= 0.083). Conclusion:-This study demonstrated the beneficial role of SNPs rs12979860 allele of IL28B gene for predicting the Hepatocellular carcinoma related to HCV patients.