Background:Viral hepatitis C represents a significant liver pathology worldwide, with a detrimental impact on national health systems.
Objectives:The present study aimed to correlate the levels of serum α‑fetoprotein (AFP) with prognostic tools such as Fibroscan, the presence of mixed cryoglobulinemia, and various demographic and standard biochemical markers, in patients with chronic hepatitis C, unrelated to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aims to assess the potential utility of AFP level in predicting non-responders to direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs).
Patients and methods: Patients in our research were divided into two groups: those who were anti-HCV positive and HCV-RNA negative (n = 55) and responded to sofosbuvir treatment, and those who were anti-HCV positive and HCV-RNA positive (n = 25) and non-response to sofosbuvir treatment using RT-PCR technology. Alpha-fetoprotein levels, liver enzyme levels (ALT and AST), bilirubin level, hemoglobin, INR, white and red blood cell counts, and blood creatinine were among the biochemical tests carried out.
Results: Our study showed that there are differences with high statistical significance (P. value < 0.05) in the level of alpha-fetoprotein for patients who did not respond to treatment before and after treatment with sofosbuvir drug. Also, there are differences with high statistical significance (P value < 0.05) in the level of alpha-fetoprotein for patients who responded and did not respond to treatment, whether before or after treatment with sofosbuvir.
Conclusion: The level of alpha-fetoprotein increases in the case of patients who do not respond to treatment compared to patients who respond to treatment with sofosbuvir drug. Knowing the level of alpha-fetoprotein helps in predicting non-response to sofosbuvir drug.