Serum Amyloid A as a non-invasive predictive biomarker of mucosal healing in ulcerative colitis patients.

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory condition of large intestine that is frequently associated with inflammation of the rectum but often extends proximally to involve other areas of the colon. The ultimate target of therapy is complete healing in the form of clinical remission, complete endoscopic and histological healing, and transmural healing for which endoscopy is mandatory. Colonoscopy may not always be applicable due to possible complications in active ulcerative colitis.

Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) polymorphisms as predictive biomarkers for the development of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in HCV Egyptian patients.

Background: Considering the immune evasion role of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in cancer development, its genomic variations might be closely associated with disease development and cancer risks. Accordingly, this study was performed to investigate how the PD-L1 gene polymorphisms affect the susceptibility to hepatitis C virus (HCV)-induced liver cirrhosis and cancer development in the Egyptian population.

Methodology: Two single nucleotide polymorphisms of the PD-L1 gene; rs2297136 (A > G) and rs4143815 (C > G), were studied in 50 HCV, 51 liver cirrhosis, and 52 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients as well as 50 healthy subjects using real-time PCR.

Serum clusterin as a promising diagnostic and prognostic marker for hepatocellular carcinoma after locoregional treatment.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common aggressive tumors, with a rising prevalence in Egypt. Clusterin is a secretory heterodimeric glycoprotein linked to cancer development and progression. This study was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic role of serum clusterin as a possible biomarker of HCC and correlate its level with the mRECIST scoring system.