Clinical significance of α- fetoprotein in initial diagnosis of primary hepatic cancer

Abstract

Objective To investigate the value ofα- fetoprotein ( AFP) in the initial diagnosis of primary hepatic cancer ( PHC) . Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on the initial AFP measurement results and imaging findings of 177 patients who had relatively complete clinical data and had a confirmed diagnosis of PHC; 98 patients with chronic hepatitis B ( CHB) and 82 patients with post- hepatitis B cirrhosis ( PHBC) , who were admitted to our department in 2011, were enrolled as controls. The obtained data were subjected to statistical analysis using SAS software; the enumeration data were subjected to chi- square test. Results In the initial examination for the 177PHC patients, 93 ( 52. 54%) had a serum AFP level not lower than 400 ng / ml, 38 ( 21. 47%) had a serum AFP level between 20 ng / ml and 400 ng / ml, and 46 ( 25. 99%) had a normal serum AFP level; the abnormal rate of AFP level was 74. 01%, which was significantly higher than those of CHB group ( χ2= 106. 07, P