{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,18]],"date-time":"2026-10-18T05:28:28Z","timestamp":1792301308513,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":121,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,29]],"date-time":"2024-11-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1732838400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Chulalongkorn University"},{"name":"MK restaurant Group Aunt Thongkum Foundation"},{"name":"BJC Big C Foundation"},{"name":"Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology"},{"name":"Chulalongkorn University"},{"name":"King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, a global health concern, can lead to chronic liver disease. The HCV core antigen (HCVcAg), a viral protein essential for replication, offers a cost-effective alternative to HCV RNA testing, particularly in resource-limited settings. This review explores the significance of HCVcAg, a key protein in the hepatitis C virus, examining its structure, function, and role in the viral life cycle. It also evaluates its clinical use in diagnosis and treatment monitoring, comparing its performance to the standard HCV RNA assay using data from PubMed and Google Scholar. HCVcAg assays show high pooled sensitivity (93.5%) and pooled specificity (99.2%) compared to HCV RNA assays, correlating closely (r = 0.87) with HCV RNA levels. Hence, HCVcAg testing offers a cost-effective way to diagnose active HCV infections and monitor treatment, especially in resource-limited settings, but its sensitivity can vary and standardization is needed. HCVcAg also predicts liver disease progression and assesses liver damage risk, aiding patient management. It helps to identify patients at risk for fibrosis or carcinoma, making it vital in hepatitis C care. HCVcAg testing can expand access to HCV care, simplify management, and contribute to global elimination strategies, especially in low- and middle-income countries.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v16121863","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,29]],"date-time":"2024-11-29T05:02:22Z","timestamp":1732856542000},"page":"1863","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Hepatitis C Virus\u2014Core Antigen: Implications in Diagnostic, Treatment Monitoring and Clinical Outcomes"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-5524-4626","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Duong Hoang Huy","family":"Le","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand"},{"name":"Center of Excellence in Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeleton, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok 10330, Thailand"},{"name":"Medical Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Department, Fundamental Sciences and Basic Medical Sciences, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9482-6353","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sitthichai","family":"Kanokudom","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand"},{"name":"Center of Excellence in Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeleton, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok 10330, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ha Minh","family":"Nguyen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Department, Fundamental Sciences and Basic Medical Sciences, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam"},{"name":"Laboratory Department, Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9391-663X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ritthideach","family":"Yorsaeng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3852-9092","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sittisak","family":"Honsawek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Excellence in Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeleton, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok 10330, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sompong","family":"Vongpunsawad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2337-6807","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yong","family":"Poovorawan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand"},{"name":"The Royal Society of Thailand, Sanam Sueapa, Bangkok 10330, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1377","DOI":"10.4254\/wjh.v7.i10.1377","article-title":"Hepatitis C virus: Virology, diagnosis and treatment","volume":"7","author":"Li","year":"2015","journal-title":"World J. 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