Background and study aim: The most frequent type of primary liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Unfortunately, ‎HCC is only diagnosed when the cancer has advanced considerably. So, comprehensive HCC ‎screening using molecular markers is critical for early identification. However, there are few researches ‎that have studied the link between HCC and Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) gene polymorphism. ‎The goal of this study was to look into the link between the EGF +61A/G (rs4444903) gene ‎polymorphism and HCC incidence in cirrhotic hepatitis C patients.‎
Patients and Methods: ‎‎‎ ‎The study involved 90 people, including 60 cirrhotic patients with HCV who were further separated ‎into 30 HCC patients and 30 non-HCC patients, as well as 30 seemingly healthy age and sex-matched ‎controls. A Qiagen DNA extraction kit was used to extract DNA from blood samples. The ‎genotyping of EGF 61A > G polymorphisms was carried out using the fluorogenic 5'-nuclease test in ‎accordance with allele-specific primers, and SNP rs444903 was detected using the TaqMan ‎Genotyping Assay Applied Biosystems ThermoFischer kit.‎
Results: In comparison to the control group, HCC (p= 0.003) and non-HCC (p= 0.027) patients had a ‎statistically significant increase in EGF G allele expression. Furthermore, those with the GG genotype ‎were also more likely to develop HCC than those with other genotypes (AG, AA)‎‎.
Conclusion: Identification of EGF gene polymorphism can be a promising screening tool for predicting HCC ‎development in cirrhotic HCV patients. Subsequently, understanding this can potentially offer better ‎preventive and therapeutic strategies according to the individual patient‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎.