Relation of alpha-fetoprotein to HCV and HBV in patients with chronic liver disease

Authors

  • Muhannad Abdullah Khalaf Kirkuk Health Directorate, Kirkuk, Iraq.
  • Mustafa Mahir Khudur Kirkuk Health Directorate, Kirkuk, Iraq.

Keywords:

HCV, HBV, AFP, ALT

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the frequency of Hepatitis B and C patients, as well as to determine whether elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels were associated with hepatitis B and C infection.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between March 19th and June 29th, 2021, in Kirkuk City. A total of 86 Hepatitis B and 24 Hepatitis C patients were included in the study. All patients were referred to the Hepatology and Gastroenterology centers in Kirkuk for treatment. Each patient had 5 milliliters of blood drawn via venipuncture to determine AFP levels, liver function, Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg), and the presence of Hepatitis C antibodies. Tests were performed using these blood samples.

Findings: Serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels were found to be significantly associated with Hepatitis B and C infections. The study showed that AFP levels were highest in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) who tested positive for Hepatitis C antibodies (849 ng/mL), followed by those with Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity (279 ng/mL). AFP levels were much lower in those without hepatitis infections (16.3 ng/mL). This suggests that elevated AFP levels are strongly correlated with HCV infection, with a notable difference between HCV and HBV infections, and lower levels in hepatitis-negative patients.

Conclusions: In conclusion, serum AFP level was higher in CLD patients with HCV antibody positive compared to HBsAg positive CLD and hepatitis negative patients.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Gamil M, Alboraie M, El-Sayed M, et al. Novel scores combining AFP with non?invasive markers for prediction of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C patients. J Med Virol. 2018;90(6):1080-6.

Tayob N, Richardson P, Kanwal F, et al. Performance of AFP-based hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance in cirrhosis patients with cured HCV. Gastroenterology. 2017;152(5):1077-8.

Chu CM, Liaw YF, Pao CC, Huang MJ. The etiology of acute hepatitis superimposed upon previously unrecognized asymptomatic HBsAg carriers. Hepatol 1989;9:452-9.

Hama SA, Sawa MI. Prevalence of hepatitis B, C, and D among thalassemia patients in Sulaimani Governorate. Kurdistan J Applied Res 2017;2(2):137-42.

Fathima SS, Chethan G, Prasanth TS, et al. Factors affecting serum AFP in HCC. J Clin Exp Hepatol 2016;6:71-9.

Al-Jaaf AM. A study of hepatitis B virus pre-core mutation among Iraqi chronic hepatitis B patients treated with interferon alfa. Council of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Baghdad University; 2006. M.Sc. thesis.

Youssif TH. Immunological study of patients with chronic active hepatitis B. College of Medicine, Baghdad University; 1998. Ph.D. thesis.

Dolan K, Wirtz AL, Moazen B, et al. Global burden of HIV, viral hepatitis, and tuberculosis in prisoners and detainees. Lancet 2016;388(10049):1089-102.

Shin EC, Sung PS, Park SH. Immune responses and immunopathology in acute and chronic viral hepatitis. Nat Rev Immunol 2016;16(8):509-18.

Seo DH, Whang DH, Song EY, Han KS. Occult hepatitis B virus infection and blood transfusion. World J Hepatol 2015;7(3):600–6.

Kwak MS, Kim YJ. Occult hepatitis B virus infection. World J Hepatol 2014;6(12):860-6.

Atkinson W, Hamborsky J, McIntyre I, Wolfe S. Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. 10th ed. Washington, DC: Public Health Foundation; 2017. p. 211-34.

Oluyinka OO, Van Tong H, Tien SB, et al. Occult hepatitis B virus infection in Nigerian blood donors and hepatitis B virus transmission risks. PloS one 2015;10(7):1-13.

Lavanchy D, Kane M. Global epidemiology of hepatitis B virus infection. In: Hepatitis B Virus in Human Diseases. Humana Press, Cham 2016:82:187-03.

Bertoletti A, Gehring AJ. The immune response during hepatitis B virus infection. J Gen Virol 2006;87:1439-49.

Chwla Y. Hepatitis B Virus: Inactive carriers. J Virol 2005; 28: 82-9.

Pol S, Haour G, Fontaine H, et al. The negative impact of HBV/HCV coinfection on cirrhosis and its consequences. Alim Pharmacol Ther 2017;46(12):1054-60.

Perrillo R. Overview of Treatment of Hepatitis B: Key Approaches and Clinical Challenges. Seminars Liver Dis 2004;24(1):23-9.

Mahoney FJ. Update on Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention of Hepatitis B Virus Infection. Clin Micrbiol Rev 1999;12(2): 351-6.

Downloads

Published

2022-08-08

How to Cite

Khalaf, M. A., & Khudur, M. M. (2022). Relation of alpha-fetoprotein to HCV and HBV in patients with chronic liver disease . Atena Journal of Public Health, 4, 5. Retrieved from https://atenajournals.com/index.php/ajph/article/view/65

Issue

Vol. 4 (2022)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright and Licensing

For all articles published in Atena Journals, copyright is retained by the authors. Articles are licensed under an open access Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, meaning that anyone may download and read the paper for free. In addition, the article may be reused and quoted provided that the original published version is cited. These conditions allow for maximum use and exposure of the work, while ensuring that the authors receive proper credit.

Reproducing Published Material from other Publishers

It is absolutely essential that authors obtain permission to reproduce any published material (figures, schemes, tables or any extract of a text) which does not fall into the public domain, or for which they do not hold the copyright. Permission should be requested by the authors from the copyrightholder (usually the Publisher, please refer to the imprint of the individual publications to identify the copyrightholder).

Permission is required for:

  1. Your own works published by other Publishers and for which you did not retain copyright.
  2. Substantial extracts from anyones' works or a series of works.
  3. Use of Tables, Graphs, Charts, Schemes and Artworks if they are unaltered or slightly modified.
  4. Photographs for which you do not hold copyright.

Permission is not required for:

  1. Reconstruction of your own table with data already published elsewhere. Please notice that in this case you must cite the source of the data in the form of either "Data from..." or "Adapted from...".
  2. Reasonably short quotes are considered fair use and therefore do not require permission.
  3. Graphs, Charts, Schemes and Artworks that are completely redrawn by the authors and significantly changed beyond recognition do not require permission.

Obtaining Permission

In order to avoid unnecessary delays in the publication process, you should start obtaining permissions as early as possible. If in any doubt about the copyright, apply for permission. Atena Journals cannot publish material from other publications without permission.

The copyright holder may give you instructions on the form of acknowledgement to be followed; otherwise follow the style: "Reproduced with permission from [author], [book/journal title]; published by [publisher], [year].' at the end of the caption of the Table, Figure or Scheme.