Evaluation of circulating activin-A as a serum marker of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Cancer Detect Prev
; 24(2): 150-5, 2000.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-10917135
ABSTRACT
Because in experimental hepatocarcinogenesis apoptosis increases from normal to preneoplastic to carcinoma tissue, proapoptotic factors, such as activin-A, may represent useful markers for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, serum activin-A was measured in 99 cirrhotic patients, of whom 55 had HCC. Activin-A concentrations were higher in HCC patients (median, 2.33 ng/ml; range, 0.41-8.12) than in patients with nonmalignant cirrhosis (1.28 ng/ml; range, 0.35-6.25) (P < .05). All 12 patients with activin-A greater than 3 ng/ml and serum alpha-fetoprotein greater than 30 ng/ml had HCC, in comparison to 32 of 41 patients who had only one and to 11 of 46 patients who had both markers below these cutoffs (P < .0001). No correlation was found between activin-A and alpha-fetoprotein in the two groups, whereas in patients with HCC, activin-A was strictly correlated with serum aspartate aminotransferase (P < .001). Activin-A mRNA for inhibin betaA subunit was expressed both in tumor and nontumor liver tissues in a case of HCC superimposed on cirrhosis and was not expressed in a case of HCC without cirrhosis. In conclusion, cirrhotic patients with HCC have high serum activin-A, to the production of which both the cirrhotic liver and the liver tumor are likely to contribute.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular
/
Prostatic Secretory Proteins
/
Inhibins
/
Liver Neoplasms
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
En
Journal:
Cancer Detect Prev
Year:
2000
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Italy
Publication country:
ENGLAND
/
ESCOCIA
/
GB
/
GREAT BRITAIN
/
INGLATERRA
/
REINO UNIDO
/
SCOTLAND
/
UK
/
UNITED KINGDOM