Role of serum vitamin d, interleukin 13, and microrna‐135a in hepatocellular carcinoma and treatment failure in egyptian hcv‐infected patients receiving direct antiviral agents

Abstract

Direct‐acting antivirals (DAAs) are used for hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment. However, treatment failure and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development following treatment was re-ported. In this study, we assessed the role of serum vitamin D, interleukin 13 (IL‐13), and mi-croRNA‐135a in the prediction of treatment failure with DAA and HCC development among Egyptian HCV‐infected patients. A total of 950 patients with HCV‐related chronic liver disease underwent DAA treatment. Before DAAs, serum vitamin D and IL‐13 were determined by ELISA, and gene expression of miRNA‐135a was assessed in serum by real‐time PCR. The predictive abilities of these markers were determined using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Sustained virological response (SVR) was achieved in 92.6% of HCV‐infected patients (responders). High viral load, IL‐13, miRNA‐135a, and low vitamin D levels were associated with treatment failure and HCC development. HCC development was recorded in non‐responders, but not in the responders (35.7% vs. 0% p < 0.001). In conclusion: serum IL‐13, Vitamin D, and miRNA‐135a could be potential biomarkers in monitoring DAA treatment and HCC prediction. DAAs‐induced SVR may decrease the incidence of HCC.