Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the clinical and epidemiological data in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) before they sought specialized medical care. The study included 92 patients with CHC. All patients were divided into 2 groups: Group 1 consisted of CHC patients with HCC (n=45), and Group 2 (n=47) consisted of CHC patients without HCC. With the development of HCC in CHC patients, clinical manifestations were absent only in 2.2% of patients. Determining factors in HCC development are male sex, mature age, the maintained HCV replication, moderate and severe fibrosis, disease duration of more than 10 years, and the lack of effect of antiviral treatment.

Keywords

• chronic hepatitis C
• hepatocellular carcinoma
• risk factors
• clinical manifestations