The role of heat shock protein 70 and glypican 3 expression in early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the world and accounts for ~90% of primary liver carcinoma cases. This study aimed to evaluate the combination of two markers (HSP70 and GPC3) immunohistochemical expression in early detection of HCC. Materials and methods This study included 56 cases of primary hepatic lesions, five cases of focal nodular hyperplasia, five cases of hepatic adenoma, 33 cases of small vaguely nodular lesions (five of dysplastic nodule and 28 of early HCC), and 13 cases of late HCC. Results The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of HSP70 for HCC detection were 78.2, 100, 100, and 24.1%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of GPC3 for HCC detection were 60, 100, 100, and 36.8%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for this combination (HSP70+GPC3) were 100, 100, 100, and 100%, respectively. Conclusion The immunoexpression of the two markers HSP70 and GPC3 is valuable in distinguishing between dysplastic nodules and early HCC. When the two markers are positive, the optimal sensitivity and specificity for detection of early HCC are obtained. The results of our study strikingly support the combination of the two markers together in the diagnostic distinction of nonconfirmed hepatic lesions of malignancies but do not support the use of both separately.