Elnemr Dina M, Abdel-Azeez Hala A, Labib Hany A, Abo-Taleb Foad M
Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt.
Clin Lab. 2012;58(9-10):1023-8.
In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), preferential expression of endoglin on endothelial cells of the tumor vasculature versus neoplastic cells has led to the suggestion that it originates from the neovasculature and plays an important role in angiogenesis. Our study aimed to evaluate the role of serum endoglin in the diagnosis of HCC and to correlate it with other studied prognostic markers.
Sixty hepatocellular carcinoma patients were studied, 60 cirrhotic patients and 45 matched healthy controls. Liver function tests, alpha fetoprotein (alphaFP) and serum endoglin levels were determined.
The study revealed a significant increase in alphaFP and endoglin in patients with liver disease compared to controls and in HCC patients compared to cirrhotic ones. There was a positive correlation between both biomarkers and stages of HCC, whereas no significant correlation between endoglin and alphaFP or between both of them and Child Pugh's classification was seen. At a cutoff value of 20 ng/mL, the sensitivity of alphaFP was 75% and the specificity was 90%, in differentiating HCC from cirrhosis. At a 7.5 ng/mL cutoff, the sensitivity of endoglin was 70% and specificity was 65%. On combination of both biomarkers, the sensitivity was increased to 85%.
Serum endoglin is a useful complementary biomarker in the diagnosis of HCC.
在肝细胞癌（HCC）中，肿瘤脉管系统内皮细胞相较于肿瘤细胞内的内皮糖蛋白呈优先表达，这表明内皮糖蛋白起源于新生血管，并在血管生成中发挥重要作用。我们的研究旨在评估血清内皮糖蛋白在HCC诊断中的作用，并将其与其他研究的预后标志物相关联。
对60例肝细胞癌患者、60例肝硬化患者和45例匹配的健康对照进行研究。测定肝功能试验、甲胎蛋白（alphaFP）和血清内皮糖蛋白水平。
研究显示，与对照组相比，肝病患者以及与肝硬化患者相比，HCC患者的alphaFP和内皮糖蛋白显著升高。两种生物标志物与HCC分期之间呈正相关，而内皮糖蛋白与alphaFP之间或它们与Child Pugh分级之间均未观察到显著相关性。在区分HCC与肝硬化时，alphaFP的临界值为20 ng/mL，其敏感性为75%，特异性为90%。内皮糖蛋白的临界值为7.5 ng/mL时，敏感性为70%，特异性为65%。两种生物标志物联合使用时，敏感性提高到85%。
血清内皮糖蛋白是HCC诊断中一种有用的补充生物标志物。
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