Description
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In Egypt, Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second most frequent malignancy and cause of death. In a 10-year-study carried out in Egypt, it was shown that HCC incidence had almost doubled between 1993 and 2002. Egypt is now overwhelmed by the highest prevalence of Hepatitis C virus in the world, with estimates ranging from 6 to 28%. Recent investigations in Egypt have also shown the increasing importance of HCV infection in the etiology of HCC, now estimated to account for 40-50% of HCC cases. Limited HCC treatment options urges researches to explore key pathways for effective molecular targeting and radical HCC cure. Among these pathways is the Insulin-like growth factor (IGF) pathway which was described frequently as a pivotal network in liver development and carcinogensis. I have focused in my Ph.D. work on abnormally expressed microRNAs (miR-615-5p and miR-155) in livers of HCV-induced HCC patients where I have showed for the first time their contribution in the regulation of the IGF axis owing to HCC progression from HCV. This work has been published in FEBS letters and presented in the European Assocsiation for the Study of Liver,EASL 2013 in Barcelona.
