relation between liver iron overload and hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with viral C cirrhosis

Fifty patients with histologically proven cirrhosis and positive antibodies for CV were included in this study and classified into two groups: The first group consisted of 18 patients with HCC on top of cirrhosis and the second one included 32 cirrhotic patients [HCC free] as controls. Hepatic iron was evaluated using a semiquantitative method in liver biopsies from all patients. Iron deposits were assessed using three different scores [hepatocytic iron score [0- 36], sinusoidal iron score [0-12] and portal iron score [0-12]]. The total iron score [0-60] was defined by the sum of these three scores