PMID: 40302092 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40302092/

Abstract

UNLABELLED: Several key risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have been identified, particularly chronic infections with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). However, only a small percentage of those infected ultimately develop HCC during their lifetime, suggesting that genetic factors may play a role in modulating the risk of cancer development. The X-ray repair cross-complementing group (XRCC1) is involved in DNA repair pathways.

AIM: investigate the association between the c.24589 G>A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the XRCC1 gene and the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

METHODS: A case-control study was conducted in the oncology departments of Peshawar, Pakistan, involving 30 HCC patients and 30 cirrhotic HCV patients without HCC. After collecting relevant clinical data and basic laboratory tests,c.24589 G>A SNP of the XRCC1 gene was analyzed using the ARMS-PCR technique.

RESULTS: A statistically significant higher frequency of XRCC1 (AA and GA) genotypes was observed in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) compared to those with cirrhotic hepatitis C virus (HCV) (p = 0.0425). In addition, the A allele frequency was notably higher in the HCC group (54% compared to 23%, p = 0.0178). Moreover, multivariate analysis indicated that the c.24589 G>A SNP independently increased the risk of developing HCC by 4.58 times (95% CI: 1.7-11.88, p = 0.017). Furthermore, patients with the AA and GA genotypes displayed larger tumor sizes (p = 0.008), a greater number of tumor foci (p = 0.006), and higher Child-Pugh grades (p = 0.044).

CONCLUSION: XRCC1 gene polymorphism could be associated with increased risk of HCC development in chronic HCV patients.