060 - Screening and laboratory diagnosis of liver cancer
Autor(s): E. Esposito, R.M. Dorizzi
Issue: RIMeL - IJLaM, Vol. 6, N. 3-S1, 2010 (MAF Servizi srl ed.)
Page(s): 60-66
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the commonest cancers in the world and its incidence is increasing. Many serum markers have been proposed for detecting HCC and some are routinely used in clinical practice for monitoring response to therapy and detecting cancer recurrence. Serum Tumor Markers (TM) for detecting HCC can be divided into 4 categories: oncofetal and glycoprotein antigens; enzymes and isoenzymes; gene products and cytokines. AFP is the most widely used in early detection of HCC and the commonest method of screening coupled to imaging, as indicated in several guidelines. However, it has been reported that AFP-L3 and DCP are better than AFP in differentiating HCC from non malignant liver disease and in detecting small HCC. The appropriate combination of these markers may improve the effectiveness in screening HCC patients. The value of other recently developed (genomic and proteomic) markers remains to be determined. It is important to have an evidence-based answer to the question of whether or not such screening does diminish HCC specific mortality.