Chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection causes liver damage and is a significant risk factor for liver cancer. There are now cures available for chronic HCV infection and the World Health Organisation has set a target to eliminate HCV by 2030. However, although curing HCV reduces the risk of liver cancer, individuals with a history of chronic HCV infection remain at higher risk.
There are multiple types of HCV that differ in their genetic sequences. Previous research has established that not all HCV genotypes present the same level of risk for liver cancer. The next step is to discover which particular viral genetic motifs are most associated with liver cancer so the HCV-infected individuals who are at the highest risk of liver cancer can be identified. This will enable more targeted surveillance to detect liver cancer earlier when treatment is more likely to be successful.
Professor Ellie Barnes and Dr Azim Ansari (Nuffield Department of Medicine) have been awarded funding as part of a wider Wellcome Trust Collaborative Award led by Professor Graham Foster (Queen Mary’s University, London) to study anti-viral drug resistance and long-term effects of HCV in Pakistan. HCV infection is highly prevalent in Pakistan with up to 20% of the population infected in hotspot regions.
A cohort of ~500 individuals with HCV-associated liver cancer will be recruited and samples will be collected for viral whole genome sequencing. The Oxford team will then analyse these sequences, comparing to people with HCV infection but not cancer, to identify any genetic patterns that are linked to cancer.
This work complements the recently launched Cancer Research UK-funded DeLIVER programme which, among other features, will study host and viral genetics in a cohort of individuals with HCV and liver cancer in the UK.