Epigenetic Changes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Developed After Direct Acting Antiviral Therapy for Chronic Hepatitis C

January 12, 2020 updated by: Reham I El-mahdy, Assiut University

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer, its survival rate ranks only second to lung cancer and it is a severe threat to human health.

In Egypt, HCC constitutes a significant public health problem. Where it is responsible for 33.63% and 13.54% of all cancers in males and females respectively. It has a poor prognosis after discovery, which is usually at a late stage of disease. This had been strongly linked to the hepatitis C virus epidemic that affected around 10-15% of the Egyptian population during the last 3 decades, and was reported as the highest prevalence of HCV in the world. However, the pathophysiological mechanisms involved remain unclear. The occurrence of HCC is a complicated process involving multiple genes and steps. Imbalances in cellular signal transduction pathways, deficiencies in DNA repair regulating genes, activation of protooncogenes, inactivation of tumor suppressor genes and epigenetic modifications all promote the occurrence of liver cancer.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

HCC is the fourth leading cause of cancer mortality in 2018. The alarming incidence of HCC is explained by genetic and epigenetic alterations, as well as by the presence of risk factors: hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, alcohol consumption, smoking, diabetes, dietary exposure to aflatoxins, and obesity.

The development of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) with cure rates of higher than 90% has been a major breakthrough in the management of patients with chronic HCV infection. However, although viral cure decreases the overall HCC risk in HCV-infected patients, it does not eliminate virus-induced HCC risk, especially in patients with advanced fibrosis. Furthermore, convenient biomarkers to robustly predict HCC risk after viral cure and strategies for HCC prevention are absent. These unexpected findings pose new challenges for patient management. Meanwhile, recent studies in patients treated with interferone-free therapy have also identified several risk factors for developing HCC after achieving sustained virological response (SVR), namely advanced hepatic fibrosis and higher levels of alpha feto protein and agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein.

Epigenetics refers to inherited altered gene expression without an alteration of the DNA sequence itself. Epigenetic alterations, such as DNA hypomethylation or hypermethylation and aberrant expression of micro-RNAs have been studied and associated with HCC. Epigenetic changes may represent diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of HCC.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Anticipated)

100

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

20 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Hepatocellular carcinoma patients

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • HCC treated with DAAs drugs for chronic hepatitis C in Assiut University Hospital.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Cases who started treatment for HCC like alcohol ablation or chemoembolization
  • Hepatitis B infection
  • Non-responder patients to DAAs

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Sixty patients with HCC
Genetic: DNA methylation
DNA methylation will be measured by real time polymerase chain reaction
Hepatic cirrhosis
Thirty patients with hepatic cirrhosis
Genetic: DNA methylation
DNA methylation will be measured by real time polymerase chain reaction
Healthy controls
Ten healthy controls.
Genetic: DNA methylation
DNA methylation will be measured by real time polymerase chain reaction

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Percentages of methylation of DNA in patients with HCC
Time Frame: Baseline
Hypermethylation is known to be associated with decreased gene expression
Baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Assiut University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Anticipated)

March 1, 2020

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

December 1, 2020

Study Completion (Anticipated)

January 1, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 3, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 3, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

January 7, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 14, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 12, 2020

Last Verified

January 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Hepatocellular carcinoma

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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