Diagnostic value of alpha-fetoprotein, Lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive alpha-fetoprotein, and des-gamma-carboxyprothrombin in hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to explore the use of different combinations of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), Lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive AFP (AFP-L3), and des-gamma-carboxyprothrombin (DCP) for the early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated liver cirrhosis (LC).


METHODS
There were 167 subjects, including 100 with HCC and 67 with LC, who were enrolled into this study. Serum AFP, AFP-L3, and DCP levels were detected by chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay and analyzed using the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) method.


RESULTS
The sensitivity and specificity of AFP and DCP for differentiating between early HCC and HBV-associated LC were 51.5% and 92.5%, and 60.0% and 84.7%, respectively. Comparative analysis of ROC curves showed no significant difference in the area under the curve (AUC) for AFP and DCP. Moreover, the combination of AFP and DCP showed the largest AUC value with a diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 67% and 83.1%, respectively.


CONCLUSION
These results suggest that AFP is the best single biomarker for distinguishing between HBV-associated LC and early HCC induced by HBV. However, the combination of AFP and DCP can enhance the diagnostic value of AFP for differentiating between these diseases.
['Song|Ting|T|https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2810-471X', 'Wang|Lili|L|', 'Su|Bin|B|', 'Zeng|Weiping|W|', 'Jiang|Taiyi|T|', 'Zhang|Tong|T|', 'Sun|Guizhen|G|', 'Wu|Hao|H|']
D015415:Biomarkers D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular D006515:Hepatitis B virus D006801:Humans D008113:Liver Neoplasms D037121:Plant Lectins D011498:Protein Precursors D011516:Prothrombin D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins
alpha-fetoprotein Lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive alpha-fetoprotein des-gamma-carboxyprothrombin Hepatocellular carcinoma early diagnosis liver cirrhosis