HISTOPATHOLOGICAL AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL STUDIES ON THE LIVER OF CHRONIC HEPATITIS C VIRUS-INFECTED PATIENTS AND HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA IN SHARKIA GOVERNORATE

AbstractAt the present time, infection with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the major problems affecting human health. The last studies referred to that more than 170 million individuals worldwide and approximately 20% of Egyptians are infected with this virus.Seventy five cases, had been previously proved to have HCV by PCR and preserved in the Early Cancer Detection Unit (ECDU) archive, were submitted for this work. Routine Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) stain for histopathological and cytopathological studies, The following results were obtained as a consequence of chronic infection with HCV:There were 52 cases of chronic hepatitis, 12 cirrhotic cases and 11 cases of HCCs. Normal architecture was still preserved in most of chronic hepatitis cases while it was partially lost in few cases. Hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) and all of the cirrhotAlso, immunohistochemical investigations played a good role in evaluating malignant changes of the studied cases, particularly AFP, although absence of AFP sometimes does not exclude the diagnosis of HCC, meaning that HCC may not produce AFP. We noticed aIn conclusions, The infected patients with chronic hepatic diseases particularly HCV were predominantly affected by HCC. Using cytopathological side by side histopathological examination and application of the advanced systems of chronic hepatitis grading