الفهرس 
Introduction and RationaleOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
HCV infection is a serious global health issue. It is estimated that 130-200 million people are chronically infected with HCV worldwide which accounts for 3% of the global population. Egypt shows the highest prevalence of HCV infection worldwide (>10%). About 500000 people die each year from hepatitis C-related liver diseases with estimated about 40000 of them are Egyptians.
Combination therapy (PEG-IFN and RBV), has shown a low rate of sustained response. HCV genotype 4 (HCV genotype in about 90% of Egyptian patients) shows unfavorable response to combination therapy. Searching for causes of treatment failure has been the focus of many previous studies.