Background/Aim: Egypt had the highest prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the world. The role of apoptosis-related cytokines in treatment induced HCV clearance is controversial. Recent studies have indicated that serum Fas and Fas ligand system may be one of the factors that used for evaluating the response to combination therapy in chronic HCV patients.
Methods: Serum levels of soluble Fas (sFas) and soluble Fas ligand (sFasL) were measured by ELISA in 50 naïve patients with chronic HCV treated by combination therapy at baseline and at the end of treatment.
Results: sFas and sFasL levels increased significantly in responders after treatment (p=0.01&p=0.000). High baseline sFasL was the only predictor for response with a cutoff level 156.5 pg/ml gives an excellent prediction for both end of treatment response and sustained virological response with area under curve (AUC) of 86% and 85.4% respectively.
Conclusion: Virological response during HCV therapy was associated with an increase of sFas and sFasL. sFasL seems to predict which patients will achieve response to treatment.