Study of Golgi protein 73 in patients with hepatitis C virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

ObjectiveThe aim of the present work is to investigate the expression of Golgi protein 73 (GP73) in serum in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and determine its efficacy as a screening test in early detection of HCC.BackgroundSerum GP73 is a promising biomarker for detection of HCC.Patients and methodsThis case–control study involved 30 patients with HCC, 30 patients with liver cirrhosis, and 15 healthy controls. Clinical examination, abdominal ultrasonography, and triphasic computed tomography for focal lesion were performed. Liver function tests were performed using clinical autoanalyzer, serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) was measured using enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay method, and GP73 was determined by enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay kit for GP73. Data were collected and statistically analyzed.ResultsGP73 was highly significantly higher in HCC group than cirrhotic and control groups. The sensitivity of GP73 in diagnosis of HCC was 83% and the specificity was 74%, at a cutoff point of 111 ng/ml, elicited from the receiver operator characteristic curve, with very good area under curve of 0.909, whereas that the sensitivity of AFP was 36.7% and the specificity was 100% at a cutoff point of 400 ng/ml, elicited from the receiver operator characteristic curve, with very good area under curve of 0.903.ConclusionGP73 is highly associated with HCC and is more sensitive than AFP for early detection of HCC.