Journal
HEPATOLOGY RESEARCH
Volume 44, Issue 10, Pages E11-E25Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/hepr.12201
Keywords
alpha-fetoprotein; des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin; diagnostic; hepatocellular carcinoma; markers
Categories
Funding
- Guangxi Science Foundation of China [0728196]
- Guangxi Medical Key Research Projects [200611]
- Guangxi Scientific Research and Technology Development Projects [0719006-2-5]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Aims: Des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) are useful tumor markers for the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, it remains controversial whether the diagnostic accuracy of DCP is superior to AFP. The aims of this review were to compare the diagnostic accuracy of DCP, AFP and combination of both markers for detecting HCC and further compare their accuracy in diagnosing early stage HCC. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane library until April 2013. Two authors independently assessed the methodological quality of each included study. Summary estimates of sensitivity, specificity and area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC) were calculated. Results: Forty-nine studies involving 14 118 participants (including 1544 with early stage HCC) were included. In case of detection of HCC, the summary estimates of DCP were: sensitivity 63% (95% confidence interval [CI], 58%-67%), specificity 91% (95% CI, 88%-93%), and the values of AFP were: sensitivity 59% (95% CI, 54%-63%), specificity 86% (95% CI, 82%-89%). The AUROC of DCP, AFP and combination of both markers were 0.83, 0.77 and 0.88, respectively. Among the early stage HCC, the summary estimates of DCP and AFP were: sensitivity 45% (95% CI, 35%-57%) versus 48% (95% CI, 39%-57%), and specificity 95% (95% CI, 91%-97%) versus 89% (95% CI, 79%-95%). The AUROC was 0.84 for DCP, 0.68 for AFP and 0.83 for the combination of both markers. Conclusion: Des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin shows more diagnostic accuracy than AFP, especially in diagnosing early stage HCC, and the combination of both markers cannot improve the diagnostic accuracy of early stage HCC.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available