Multiple Pregnancies, Hepatitis C, and Risk for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Egyptian Women

Overview

Journal BMC Cancer

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Oncology

Date 2014 Nov 30

PMID 25432765

Citations 4

Authors

Sania Amr

Emily A Iarocci

Ghada R Nasr

Doaa Saleh

Jan Blancato

Kirti Shetty

Christopher A Loffredo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The reasons for the worldwide sex disparity in the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain elusive. We investigated the role of multiple pregnancies on the associations between viral hepatitis C (HCV) infection and HCC risk among Egyptian women.

Methods: We used data collected from blood specimens and questionnaires administered to female HCC cases and controls in Cairo, Egypt, from 1999 through 2009. HCV infection was defined as being sero-positive for either anti-HCV antibodies or HCV-RNA. Using logistic regression models we calculated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to estimate the associations between being HCV positive and HCC risk, and how it is modified by the number of pregnancies, after adjustment for other factors, including hepatitis B status.

Results: Among 132 confirmed female cases and 669 controls, the risk of HCV-related HCC increased with the number of pregnancies. Women infected with HCV had higher risk for HCC if they had more than five pregnancies, as compared to those who had five or fewer pregnancies (adjusted OR (95% CI): 2.33 (1.29-4.22)). The association of HCV infection with HCC risk was significantly greater among the former (21.42 (10.43-44.00)) than among the latter (6.57 (3.04-14.25)).

Conclusion: Having multiple pregnancies increases the risk of HCV-related HCC among Egyptian women, raising questions about the roles of estrogens and other pregnancy-related hormones in modulating HCV infection and its progression to HCC.

Citing Articles

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Wide Sexual Dimorphism of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Presentation in Algeria.

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Estrogen Replacement Reduces Risk and Increases Survival Times of Women With Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hassan M, Botrus G, Abdel-Wahab R, Wolff R, Li D, Tweardy D Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017; 15(11):1791-1799.

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Clinical implication of long non-coding RNA NEAT1 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

Guo S, Chen W, Luo Y, Ren F, Zhong T, Rong M Int J Clin Exp Pathol. 2015; 8(5):5395-402.

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