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Semin Liver Dis 2006; 26(4): 385-390
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-951606
Copyright © 2006 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Serum Markers of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

H.C. Spangenberg1 , R. Thimme1 , H.E. Blum1
  • 1Department of Medicine II, University Hospital, Freiburg, Germany
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Publication History

Publication Date:
18 October 2006 (online)

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ABSTRACT

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in some areas of the world with increasing incidence worldwide. Most of patients with HCC are diagnosed at a late stage. Therefore, the prognosis of HCC patients is generally very poor with a 5-year survival rate of less than 5%. Screening strategies including α-fetoprotein (AFP) and ultrasound every 6 months in patients with liver cirrhosis, the major risk factor for HCC development, have been recommended to detect HCC at earlier stages amenable to effective treatment strategies. AFP, however, is a marker with poor sensitivity and specificity and the ultrasound is highly dependent on the operator's experience. Apart from AFP, lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive AFP and des-gamma carboxyprothrombin and several other biomarkers (e.g., glypican-3, human hepatocyte growth factor, and insulin-like growth factor) have been proposed as markers for HCC detection. In addition, with recently employed techniques, such as gene-expressing microarrays and proteomics, it is to be expected that new HCC-specific markers will become available in the near future. For all such proposed markers, however, the clinical usefulness has to be carefully evaluated and validated.

KEYWORDS

Tumor markers - α-fetoprotein - lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive AFP - des-gamma carboxyprothrombin

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P.D. Dr. H.C. Spangenberg

Department of Medicine II, University Hospital

Hugstetter Strasse 55, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany