Clinical investigation of diagnosis and differential diagnosis of Ki-67, arginase-1, HepPar-1 and glypican-3 in primary hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To explore the diagnostic and differential diagnostic value of Ki-67, Arg-1, HepPar-1 and Glypican-3 in primary hepatocellular carcinoma and benign hepatocellular lesions. Methods A total of 118 cases of primary hepatocellular carcinomas, 100 cases of benign hepatocellular lesions and 263 cases malignant carcinomas originated from other organs were adopted in this study. Immunohistochemistry of Ki-67, Arg-1, HepPar-1 and Gly-3 were performed and evaluated in all specimens. Results The expressions of Ki-67 were concordant with the differentiation of hepatocellular carcinomas and the difference between primary hepatocellular carcinomas and benign hepatocellular lesions were statistically significant (P<0.01). The combination of Arg-1+ HepPar-1+ Glypican-3 had the most sensitivity and specificity in differential diagnosis between primary hepatocellular and metastatic malignant cancers, while the combination of Ki-67+ Glypican-3+ Arg-1 showed the better diagnostic value in primary hepatocellular carcinomas and benign lesions. Conclusions The application of different immunohistochemical antibody spectra in primary liver cancers could efficiently improve diagnostic accuracy and reliability. Key words: Liver neoplasms/ME/DI; Ki-67 antigen/ME; Arginase/ME; Glypicans/ME; Antigens/ME; Diagnosis, differential