RESUMO
Chronic exposure to Hepatitis B viral infections and in few instances hepatitis C also, are strongly suspected of causing hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC]. Moreover, in considerable numbers of HCC cases, the patients found positive for Hepatitis infections. The development of HCC is related to the integration of viral DNA into the genome of host hepatocytes. It is noted that African and Far East countries, where HCC is common, have high rates of hepatitis carries, probably with vertical transmission, of viruses from generation to generations. The scope of present study is to evaluate the incidence of HBV or HCV in factions in patients with HCC. A brief clinical history of 100 patients [Males; 58%, Females; 42%] with confirmation of HCC along with base-line value of a-fetoprotein [AFP], is taken and cumulated. !nail patients, AFP values were found to be elevated ranging from 13.44 to 610 ng/ml in males [mean 184.82 ng/ml] and 13.00 to 576 ng/ml in females [mean 189.54 ng.ml]. It was noted that in most of the confirmed cases of HCC, hepatitis infections of HBV and HCV origin is prevalent. In malj HCC patients, 24 were diagnosed with HBV whereas 19 with HCV infection. In females 18 HCC patients were HBV positive and 13 with HCV. Remaining patients were investigated thoroughly for any infection, but found devoid of any. However; cirrhosis of biliary origin, haemochromatosis, cystic fibrosis and drug-induced cirrhosis are persistent. It is concluded in present study that HCC patients were discovered with HBV and HCV infections. Nonetheless, these studies neither instate the correlation between presence of hepatitis infections and formation of HCC nor ascertain that hepatitis infection are the causative agents of HCC. The results are presented in relation to various risk factors, and clinical and diagnostic characteristic
RESUMO
Alpha-fetoprotein [a-fetoprotein, AFP] is a glycoprotein of MW 69,000 and belongs to the albumin class of protein. The AFP genes are located at chromosome 4 in humans and the coding sequence of 15 exons segregated by 14 introns. It is an onco-development protein, first identified in 1960s as a major protein in conditions related to hepatic carcinoma. Since then, the clinical utility of AFP as a tumor marker is now established in several pathological conditions, ranging from embryonal development defects, such as spina bifida in infants malignant conditions such as Hepatoblastoma, pancreatoblastoma, hepatoceHular carcinoma and germ cell tumors. The present review describes the discovery of AFP with historical background, biology of its existence, structure specification and functional properties as well as diagnostic significance in malignant and chronic conditions