Serum Osteopontin and its Relation to Colorectal Carcinoma in Egyptian Patient

Background Colorectal cancer had a low incidence several decades ago. However, it has become a predominant cancer and now accounts for approximately 10% of cancer-related mortality in western countries. The ‘rise’ of colorectal cancer in developed countries can be attributed to the increasingly ageing population, unfavourable modern dietary habits and an increase in risk factors such as smoking, low physical exercise and obesity. Objectives The aim of this study to evaluate the role of serum level of osteopontin in prediction of Colorectal Carcinomain in correlation with tissue histopathology which it is the gold standard test in Egyptian patient. Patients and Methods The study was a Randomized controlled clinical trial. Which is a prospective, random, clinical trial conducted at Ain Shams University Hospitals at endoscopic unit on patients who refered for colonscopy. This study was conducted on 80 patients who were divided into 2 groups: Group A: 40 patients diagnosed as Colorectal Carcinoma as a patient group, Group B: 40 patients with age and sex matched control group who have normal colonscopy. Results There was statistically significant difference between CRC patients and normal colonscopic patients regarding the level ofosteopontin being higher in CRC patients (P value = 0.000). Also ROC curve for osteopontin in prediction of CRC showed the best cut of value >12 ng/ml with area under the curve (AUC) = 0.889, sensitivity =85%, specificity =77.5% with positive predictive value =79.1% Conclusion Serum Osteopontin (OPN) level is higher in patients with CRC than patients with normal colonscopy, so it can be used as a diagnostic marker for HCC.

Whole-genome sequencing of human Pegivirus variant from an Egyptian patient co-infected with hepatitis C virus: a case report

Background Human pegivirus (HPgV) is structurally similar to hepatitis C virus (HCV) and was discovered 20 years ago. Its distribution, natural history and exact rule of this viral group in human hosts remain unclear. Our aim was to determine, by deep next-generation sequencing (NGS), the entire genome sequence of HPgV that was discovered in an Egyptian patient while analyzing HCV sequence from the same patient. We also inspected whether the co-infection of HCV and HPgV will affect the patient response to HCV viral treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report for a newly isolated HPgV in an Egyptian patient who is co-infected with HCV. Case presentation The deep Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technique was used to detect HCV sequence in hepatitis C patient’s plasma. The results revealed the presence of HPgV with HCV. This co-infection was confirmed using conventional PCR of the HPgV 5′ untranslated region. The patient was then subjected to direct-acting-antiviral treatment (DAA). At the end of the treatment, the patient showed a good response to the HCV treatment (i.e., no HCV-RNA was detected in the plasma), while the HPgV-RNA was still detected. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that the detected HPgV was a novel isolate and was not previously published. Conclusion We report a new variant of HPgV in a patient suffering from hepatitis C viral infection.