Impact of cigarette smoking on response to interferon therapy in chronic hepatitis C Egyptian patients

AIM:Smoking may affect adversely the response rate to interferon-α.Our objective was to verify this issue among chronic hepatitis C patients. METHODS:Over the year 1998,138 chronic hepatitis C male Egyptian patients presenting to Cairo Liver Center, were divided on the basis of smoking habit into:group I which comprised 38 smoker patients(>30 cigarettes/d) and group Ⅱ which included 84 non-smoker patients. Irregular and mild smokers(16 patients)were excluded. Non eligible patients for interferon-α therapy were excluded from the study and comprised 3/38(normal ALT)in group I and 22/84 in group Ⅱ(normal ALT,advanced cirrhosis and thrombocytopenia).Group I was randomly allocated into 2 sub-groups:group Ia comprised 18 patients who were subjected to therapeutic phlebotomy while sub-group Ib consisted of 17 patients who had no phlebotomy.In sub-group la,3 patients with normal ALT after repeated phlebotomies were excluded from the study.Interferon-α 2b 3 MU/TIW was given for 6 mo to 15 patients in group Ia,17 patients in group Ib and 62 patients in group Ⅱ. Biochemical,virological end-of-treatment and sustained responses were evaluated. RESULTS:At the end of interferon-α treatment,ALT was normalized in 3/15 patients(20%)in group Ia and 2/17 patients(11.8%)in group Ib compared to17/62 patients (27.4%)in group Ⅱ(P=0.1).Whereas 2/15 patients(13.3%) in group Ia.and 2/17 patients(11.8%)in group Ib lost viraemia compared to 13/62 patients(26%)in group Ⅱ (P=0.3).Six months later,ALT was persistently normal in 2/15 patients(13.3%)in group 1a and 1/17 patients (5.9%)in group Ib compared to 9/62 patients(14.5%)in group Ⅱ(P=0.47).Viraemia was eliminated in 1/15 patients (6.7%)in group Ia and 1/17 patients(5.9%)in group Ib compared to 7/62 patients(11.3%) in group Ⅱ,but the results did not mount to statistical significance(P=0.4). CONCLUSION:Smokers suffering from chronic hepatitis C tend to have a lower response rate to interferon-α compared to non-smokers.Therapeutic phlebotomy improves the response rate to interferon-α therapy among this group.

Hepatocellular carcinoma in Egypt: A single center study over a decade

AIM： To identify the trend, possible risk factors and any pattern change of hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） in Egypt over a decade. METHODS： All HCC patients attending Cairo Liver Center between January 1993 and December 2002, were enrolled in the study. Diagnosis of HCC was based on histopathological examination and/or detection of hepatic focal lesions by two imaging techniques plus α-fetoprotein level above 200 ng/mL. The duration of the study was divided into two periods of 5 years each; period Ⅰ （1993-1997） and period Ⅱ （1998-2002）. Trend, demographic features of patients （age, gender, and residence）, risk factors （HBsAg, HCV-Ab, schistosomiasis and others） and pattern of the focal lesions were compared between the two periods. Logistic regression model was fitted to calculate the adjusted odds ratios for the potential risk factors. The population attributable risk percentage was calculated to estimate the proportion of HCC attributed to hepatitis B and C viral infections. RESULTS： Over a decade, 1 328 HCC patients out of 22 450 chronic liver disease （CLD） patients were diagnosed with an overall proportion of 5.9%. The annual proportion of HCC showed a significant rising trend from 4.0% in 1993 to 7.2% in 2002 （P = 0.000）. A significant increase in male proportion from 82.5% to 87.6% （P = 0.009）; M/F from 5：1 to 7：1 and a slight increase of the predominant age group （40-59 years） from 62.6% to 66.8% （P = 0.387）in periods Ⅰ and Ⅱ respectively, reflecting a shift to younger age group. In the bivariate analysis, HCC was significantly higher in rural residents, patients with history of schistosomiasis and/or blood transfusion. Yet, after adjustment, these variables did not have a significant risk for development of HCC. There was a significant decline of HBsAg from 38.6% to 20.5% （P = 0.000）, and a slight increase of HCV-Ab from 85.6% to 87.9% in periods I and II respectively. HBV conferred a higher risk to develop HCC more than HCV in period Ⅰ （OR 1.9 vsl.6） and period Ⅱ （OR 2.7 vs 2.0）, but the relative contribution of HBV for development of HCC declined in period Ⅱ compared to period Ⅰ （PAR% 4.2%, 21.32%）. At presentation, diagnostic α-fetoprotein level （≥200 ng/mL） was demonstrated in 15.6% vs28.9% and small HCC （≤3 cm） represented 14,9% vs 22,7% （P = 0,0002） in periods Ⅰ and Ⅱ respectively. CONCLUSION： Over a decade, there was neady a twofold increase of the proportion of HCC among CLD patients in Egypt with a significant decline of HBV and slight increase of HCV as risk factors. α-Fetoprotein played a limited role in diagnosis of HCC, compared to imaging techniques. Increased detection of small lesions at presentation reflects increased awareness of the condition.