甲胎蛋白在原发性肝癌临床诊断中的应用

目的评价血清甲胎蛋白(AFP)在原发性肝癌(HCC)临床诊断中的应用及其价值。方法分析290例HCC、48例肝硬化及49例健康体检者血清AFP水平,AFP水平与HCC患者肿瘤大小、数目及国际抗癌联合会肝癌TNM临床分期之间的关系,不同诊断阈值下AFP水平在HCC及肝硬化人群中的诊断灵敏度及特异性。结果HCC患者的血清AFP水平显著高于肝硬化患者(P=0.0274)和健康体检者(P=0.0001)。290例HCC患者中,95例(32.8%)血清AFP<20μg/L,195例(67.2%)血清AFP≥20μg/L。AFP诊断阈值设定为20μg/L时,其诊断预测灵敏度为67.2%,特异性为29.2%,阳性预测准确率为85.2%,阴性预测准确率为12.8%。AFP诊断阈值设定为400μg/L时,其诊断预测灵敏度太低(42.8%)而无法为临床使用。不同肿瘤大小(P=0.0009)、TNM分期TNMⅠ期vs.TNMⅢ~Ⅳ期(P=0.0001);TNMⅡ期vs.TNMⅢ~Ⅳ期(P=0.0003)]及肿瘤数目(P=0.0001)HCC患者血清AFP水平显著不同。结论AFP升高对HCC诊断具有较强的提示作用,结合其他影像学诊断用于高危人群筛查及对于AFP阳性患者术后随访具有重要作用。

Application of alpha-fetoprotein in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the usefulness of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in clinical diagnosis and screening for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: Totally 290 HCC patients, 48 liver cirrhosis patients, and 49 healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. Serum AFP analysis was performed to investigate the correlation between the serum AFP level in HCC and the clinical or biochemical parameters of the disease, which included the size and number of tumor and the TNM stage. Sensitivities and specificities of AFP in HCC prediction at different cut-off levels were determined. RESULTS: The serum AFP level was significantly higher in HCC patients than in liver cirrhosis patients (P = 0.0274) and healthy subjects (P = 0.0001). Among 290 HCC patients, 95 patients (32.8%) were AFP-negative (AFP < 20 microg/L), 195 (67.2%) were AFP-positive (AFP > or =20 microg/L). Sensitivity and specificity of AFP at 20 microg/L cut-off was 67.2% and 29.2%, respectively, and the positive and negative predictive value was 85.2% and 12.8%, respectively. Sensitivity of AFP at 400 microg/L cut-off was only 42.8%. Serum AFP levels were significantly different among HCC with different tumor size (P = 0.0009), tumor number (P = 0.0001), and TNM stage TNM I vs. TNM III-IV (P = 0.0001); TNM II vs. TNM III-IV (P = 0.0003)]. CONCLUSIONS: Increased serum AFP level is highly suggestive in HCC diagnosis. Combined with other imaging examinations, AFP level can be used for the screening of high risk population and for the follow-up of AFP-positive patients.