Considering all HFE heterozygous HCV patients, odds ratios of 3.6 (CI 1.4-9.3; P<0.009) for cirrhosis and 3.1 (CI 1.3-7.3; P<0.009) for fibrosis were calculated.
Other recent evidence indicates that the prevalence of HFE gene mutations is increased in chronic viral hepatitis and that patients with chronic hepatitis C harboring especially the C282Y mutation are more likely to suffer from advanced hepatic fibrosis or cirrhosis and to do so at younger ages.
Serum markers of iron status and HFE mutations were determined in 179 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and 98 patients with hepatitis B and/or hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis.
The results indicate that HH patients with the HFEC282Y mutation and low numbers of CD8+ cells in the liver lobuli have higher iron stores and are more prone to develop liver cirrhosis.
The possibility of cirrhosis-associated hemosiderosis secondary to an iron metabolism abnormality associated with the H63D mutation of the HFE gene is proposed.
The aims of this study were to define the prevalence of the mutations 845G --> A and 187C --> G (C282Y and H63D) in the HFE gene associated with hereditary hemochromatosis in Italian patients with hepatocellular carcinoma occurring in cirrhosis and to analyze the interaction between these mutations and other established risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma.
To determine the risk of developing cirrhosis and liver cancer in individuals with HFE mutations in a population where few people were being treated for haemochromatosis.
Overall, these data suggest that the liver iron accumulation in patients with CAH C is significantly associated with histological activity and cirrhosis, whereas the two missense hemochromatosis gene mutations are not major determinants.