Study on biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma related to different causes

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of biomarkers and their combinations for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among HCC related to different causes. Methods Retrospective analysis was applied for alpha fetal protein (AFP), alpha-L-fucosidase (AFU) and des-gamma-carboxy-prothrombin (DCP) levels among 275 cases of HCC, including hepatitis B virus (HBV) related HCC (n=102), hepatitis C virus (HCV) related HCC (n=103) and alcohol related HCC (n=70). Results The levels of AFP, AFU and DCP had no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) among three groups of HCC. For HBV-related HCC, HCV-related HCC and alcohol-related HCC, the negative rates of AFP were 35%, 36% and 52%, respectively; the negative rates of AFU were 57%, 72% and 58%, respectively; and the negative rates of DCP were 38%, 42% and 41% respectively. For HBV-related HCC, the detection sensitivity of HCC increased from 65% to 76% using combination of AFP and DCP while combination of AFP and AFU showed no effect on the sensitivity. For HCV-related HCC, the sensitivity increased from 64% to 79% using combination of AFP, AFU and DCP . For alcohol-related HCC, the sensitivity increased from 48% to 78% using combination of AFP, AFU and DCP. Conclusions The expression levels of AFP, AFU and DCP showed no statistically significant difference among HCC related to different causes. For HCV-related HCC and alcohol-related HCC, using combination of AFP, AFU and DCP can improve the detection sensitivity for HCC. For HBV-related HCC, using combination of AFP and DCP can improve the sensitivity for HCC. Key words: Alpha fetal protein; Des-gamma-carboxy-prothrombin; Alpha-L-fucosidase; Hepatocellular carcinoma