EVALUATION OF VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR IN LIVER CARCINOMA WITH PROGRESSIVE HEPATITIS B

Background: Another significant risk factor of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is chronic hepatitis B (CHB), particularly in places where genetic testing is not widely available. Angiogenesis is central to HCC pathogenesis, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been suggested as a contributor to cancer growth and progression. This research aimed to reveal the significance of serum VEGF levels concerning the presence of HCC in CHB patients and prove the effectiveness of VEGF as a non-invasive diagnostic marker in HCC. Methods: A comparative study was carried out on a sample size of 70 in a tertiary care hospital. They were subdivided into two groups, including CHB patients with HCC (n = 50) and those without HCC (n = 20). Serum VEGF was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), along with routine liver tests, including alpha fetoprotein (AFP). A structured proforma was used to record demographic and clinical information. Statistical analyses, including t-tests and Pearson correlation, were conducted with p < 0.05 as a significance criterion. Results: The average levels of VEGF were significantly lower in the control group than in patients with HCC (74.5 ± 18.3 vs 28.6 ± 9.4 pg/mL, p = <0.0001). A positive relationship of VEGF was strongly correlated with a tumor (r = 0.61, p < 0.001) and AFP (r = 0.58, p = 0.002), but there was a lack of significant correlations with age or sex. Also, a moderate positive correlation was found with the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels (r = 0.45, p = 0.01). Conclusion: This study indicates that VEGF can be used as a complementary biomarker to AFP for early screening and surveillance of HCC among CHB patients. Future surveillance strategies may be enhanced by the correction of VEGF measurement in low-resource settings.