Long-term Kinetics of Alpha-fetoprotein in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients Treated with Direct-acting Antivirals and Possible Predictive Role of AFP Response to Treatment on Development of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Objectives: To evaluate the post-treatment upto fourth-year kinetics of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) treated with direct-acting antiviral (DAA) drugs. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective, single-center study, 182 patients (124 female, 58 male) with CHC treated with DAA were included in the study. Biochemistry and AFP were recruited from the hospital database. The data at pre-treatment, 3rd and 48th month after the end of treatment were evaluated. Results: Of the 182 patients, mean age was 58±12 (28-76), and forty-nine (27%) had cirrhosis. At month 3, the average decline of AFP was 35.6% (0.4-97.0). Early decline of AFP