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Título

PLATELETS BEHAVIOR IN PATIENTS WITH HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA (HCC) INFECTED WITH CHRONIC HEPATITIS C (HCV) CONSIDERING GENDER AND AGE

Resumo

Hepatitis C is an infectious and inflammatory disease caused by the HCV virus, which is commonly responsible for liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and/or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It is estimated that 60 to 85% of cases of hepatitis C become chronic, which increases the risk of HCC by 10 to 20 times. HCC is the most common type of liver cancer and the second in mortality rate. Currently, the main forms of monitoring and diagnosing HCC are ultrasonography (USG), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), biopsy and laboratory markers. However, platelets are being associated with HCC as recent research has found that thrombocytopenia generally indicates progression of liver fibrosis and longer survival in patients with HCC, while thrombocytosis is associated with a worse prognosis of HCC regarding its growth and spread. Analyze platelets count in patients with HCC infected with HCV, comparing groups according to age and gender. During this study, 112 HCV patients were analyzed according to their age, gender and platelets quantity considering over 150.000mm³ as normal count. All were diagnosed with HCC through biopsy or MRI. The Student’s t-test or Mann-Whitney U-test, were used for parametric and non-parametric data, respectively (p=<0,05). In the 112 patients sample, the overall mean platelet count was 124,449.10±71,549.24mm³, of which 68.75% were male. The mean number of platelets in women was 121,800±71,228.60mm³, while in men it was 125,653.24±71,549.24mm³. There were no patients under 45 years old and most patients are over 60 years old (61.6%). Patients between 40 and 59 years (38.4%) had a mean platelet count of 107,418.60±70,796.10mm³, while patients over 60 years had 135,062.31±71,743.77mm³.The present data suggests that the 40-59 years and the female groups have a better prognosis. On the other hand, males are expected to have a lower life expectancy being the most prevalent in the HCC group with a milder thrombocytopenia, which may suggest a worse prognosis compared to women. Monitoring platelet counts can assist HCC+HCV patients in the initial diagnosis, follow-up, prognosis and treatment targeting for HCC. In addition, further study of platelets can be valuable for the development of a more personalized treatment in cases of HCC+HCV, and offer a diagnostic alternative to biopsy, MRI and USG, or complementary, being less invasive, stressful and costly for the patient.

Key Words: HCV, HCC, Platelets.