Serum Golgi protein-73 in combination with α-fetoprotein for diagnosing hepatocellular carcinoma in Egyptian patients

Abstract

Background and aim Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third cause of cancer-related mortality. α-fetoprotein (AFP) is not a highly sensitive marker for predicting HCC despite its high specificity. Serum Golgi protein-73 (sGP73) seems to be promising new marker. This study aimed at evaluating the role of sGP73 alone and in combination with AFP for diagnosing HCC. Patients and methods This study was conducted on 90 Egyptian patients who were equally divided into two groups. Group 1 included 45 patients with hepatitis C virus-related liver cirrhosis without clinical or radiological evidence of HCC, and group 2 included 45 patients diagnosed as having HCC by triphasic abdominal computed tomography. Serum AFP and GP73 were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results A cutoff value greater than or equal to 40 ng/ml for AFP had a sensitivity of 51.1%, specificity of 97.8%, and area under the curve (AUC) of 0.802. sGP73 with a cutoff value greater than or equal to 1.4 ng/ml yielded a sensitivity of 75.6%, specificity of 97.8%, diagnostic accuracy of 86.7%, and AUC of 0.908. The combined use of AFP and sGp73 led to an increase in sensitivity to 84.4%, specificity to 95.6%, diagnostic accuracy to 90%, and AUC to 0.947. Conclusion The combined use of AFP and sGp73 could increase the sensitivity and specificity for HCC diagnosis.

Keywords

• α-fetoprotein
• golgi protein-73
• hepatocellular carcinoma