Predicting significant fibrosis or cirrhosis in patients with hepatitis C virus has persistently preoccupied the research agenda of many specialized research centers. Many studies have been conducted to evaluate the use of readily available laboratory tests to predict significant fibrosis or cirrhosis with the purpose to substantially reduce the number of biopsies performed. Although many of them reported significant predictive values of several serum markers for the diagnosis of cirrhosis, none of these diagnostic techniques was successful in accurately predicting early stages of liver...