Evaluation of serum DNA integrity as a screening and prognostic tool in patients with hepatitis C virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignancy in Egypt due to the high frequency of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among the general population. Circulating free DNA is a potential molecular marker for the diagnosis and prognosis of malignant tumors. DNA released from apoptotic cells usually consists of short uniform fragments while DNA released from cancer cells is longer.