| Summary: | People with hepatitis C virus (HCV) have a 2% annual risk, and a 7% to 14% five-year risk for hepatocellular carcinoma development, a tumor with an estimated median survival of 4.3 to 20 months after making the diagnosis. HCV is the cause of: 20% of acute hepatitis, 70% of chronic hepatitis, 40% of liver cirrhosis, 60% of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC), and 30% of indications for liver transplantation. HCC is the fifth most common cancer in the world, and is one of the most frequent causes of death, accounting for 6% of all carcinomas. There is a heterogeneous distribution of HCC worldwide. It develops after the mutations in cell machinery causing the cell to reproduce faster and/or to avoid apoptosis. Current researches include the search for the genes that are disregulated in HCC, protein markers, and other predictive biomarkers. As similar research is yielding results in various other malignant diseases, it is hoped that identifying the aberrant genes and the resultant proteins could lead to the identification of pharmacological interventions for HCC.
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