Combination Assay of Alpha-fetoprotein, Protein Induced by Vitamin K Absence or Antagonist-H and KMO1 for the Diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract

Blood levels of PIVKA-II, KM01 and AFP were measured and evaluated in 70 patients including 35 with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 18 with liver cirrhosis and 6 with extrahepatic disease. The sensitivity and specificity were 40.4% and 97.1% for PIVKA-U, 51.4% and 71.4% for KMO1 and 65.7% and 91.4% for AFP respectively. There were no statistical significant correlations among the tumor markers, showing that each marker is independent. The combination assay of PIVKA-II, KMO1 and AFP was evaluated for screening HCC cases. The sensitivity was improved to 85.7% for HCC cases and to 82.4% for cases of resectable HCC. It was concluded that measurement of PIVKA-II, KMO1, AFP and of the combination of these markers is useful for the diagnosis of HCC.