Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC): Association and molecular causes of HCV transformation to HCC

Hepatitis C virus infection has become a major health problem affecting approximately 170 million people every year. Also around 350,000 people die every year due to this virus. In India, around 6-12 million people get infected with Hepatitis C virus. Different studies have reported the role of Hepatitis C viral proteins mainly Core, NS3, NS5B in progressing to Hepato-Cellular Carcinoma but the exact cause and effect relationships are not known. A meta-analysis was first conducted using web tools and data published in last 25 years. Secondly in silico work was also conducted and correlated with the existing study. Interaction of HCV proteins with TP53 (Tumor Suppressing protein p53) in developing HCC was also carried out. Role of different HCV proteins has been observed in host signaling pathways which alter mechanism of tumor expression competence of host system. This study showed that HCV infection is not just limited in causing liver damage but can also lead to extra-hepatic-manifestations which may make way for severity in liver. This may further lead to challenges in development of an effective treatment against HCV, in spite of the number of Direct Acting Antivirals (DAAs) and therapies in use. More studies on molecular diagnosis, further research on DAAs and therapies can contribute in developing better therapeutics.