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World J Hepatol. Jun 27, 2022; 14(6): 1120-1130
Published online Jun 27, 2022. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v14.i6.1120
Fibrosis regression following hepatitis C antiviral therapy
Aisha Elsharkawy, Reham Samir, Mohamed El-Kassas
Aisha Elsharkawy, Reham Samir, Department of Endemic Medicine and Hepatogastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo 11566, Egypt
Mohamed El-Kassas, Department of Endemic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Helwan University, Cairo 11795, Egypt
Author contributions: All authors equally contributed to this paper with conception and design of the work, literature review, drafting and critical revision, editing, and final approval of the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There is no conflict of interest associated with any of the senior author or other coauthors contributed their efforts in this manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Mohamed El-Kassas, MD, MSc, PhD, Professor, Department of Endemic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Helwan University, Helwan, Cairo 11795, Egypt. m_elkassas@hq.helwan.edu.eg
Received: January 29, 2022
Peer-review started: January 29, 2022
First decision: April 10, 2022
Revised: April 16, 2022
Accepted: May 12, 2022
Article in press: May 12, 2022
Published online: June 27, 2022
Processing time: 145 Days and 4.2 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the most common causes of hepatitis that results in continuous liver injury. Uncontrolled inflammatory responses result in liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Liver fibrosis is a dynamic process that can be reversible upon timely cessation of the injurious agent. In cases of HCV, achievement of sustained virological response by antiviral therapies might be accompanied by regression of liver fibrosis and improvement of the patient's clinical profile. Assessment of liver fibrosis can be done with invasive and non-invasive methods, with certain limitations. Fibrosis regression can positively impact patients' quality of life, reducing complications.