Frequency of Hepatitis C Virus among Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients in Khartoum State

Abstract

Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) which affects the liver and may cause hepatocellular carcinoma. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of HCV among hepatocellular carcinoma patients. The study was conducted during the period between January and April 2015. A total of seventy blood samples (n=70) were obtained from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The patients were hospitalized in four hospitals and center in Khartoum State. These were Soba University Hospital, Ibdrahim Malik Teaching Hospital, IbnSina Specialized Hospital and Antalya Diagnostic Center. Five ml venous blood were collected from each patient. serum was obtained by centrifugation at 3000 rpm for 5 min. The sera were examined for the presence of HCV antibodies using Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbant Assay (ELISA). The results revealed that out of 70 blood samples investigated, 14(20%) were positive for HCV antibodies. The rest 56(80%) were negative. Of the positive blood samples, 7(19%) out of 37 (53%) obtained from males and 7(21%) out of 33(47%) from females. The study concluded that the infection of HCV in Hepatocellular carcinoma patients is not so high. The level of infection is higher in females than males. Further studies with large number of samples and more advanced technique are required to validate the results of the present study.