EVALUATION OF SERUM GLUTAMIC DEHYDROGENASE ACTIVITY IN DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT FOR HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA AND LIVER METASTASIS

Abstract

Serum glutamic dehydrogenase (GLDH) activity remained unchanged in abstinence except for the hepatic encephalopathy stage in patients with liver cirrhosis, while it was increased when the patients were complicated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The increased activities of serum GLDH were also recognized in the patients with carcinoma who were complicated with liver metastasis (LM). Among several biochemical parameters in serum, the GLDH activity appeared to be the most valuable diagnostic one to test the complication of HCC in patients with liver cirrhosis, and that of LM in patients with carcinoma. When chemotherapeutic agents were infused intraarterially to patients with HCC or LM, the GLDH activity changed in reflecting on the clinical effects.
Therefore, it was suggested that the measurement of serum GLDH activity in abstinence was a useful screening test for the diagnosis of HCC and LM and for the estimation of the chemotherapy effects.