Shingaki Naoki, Tamai Hideyuki, Mori Yoshiyuki, Moribata Kosaku, Enomoto Shotaro, Deguchi Hisanobu, Ueda Kazuki, Inoue Izumi, Maekita Takao, Iguchi Mikitaka, Kato Jun, Ichinose Masao
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama City, Wakayama 641-0012, Japan.
Mol Clin Oncol. 2013 Nov;1(6):977-981. doi: 10.3892/mco.2013.186. Epub 2013 Sep 17.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) frequently develops in cirrhotic liver and is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. The tumor volume doubling time (TVDT) reflects the natural tumor growth rate and is an indicator of the biological malignant potential of a tumor. The present study aimed to elucidate the association between the serological and histological indices of HCC and TVDT. TVDT was analyzed for 53 HCCs by measuring the enlargement of the tumor diameter on dynamic computed tomography. Differences in TVDT were compared among histological grades of HCC differentiation. The α-fetoprotein (AFP) doubling time (T2AFP) for 44 HCCs with AFP levels >200 ng/ml was calculated and the differences in T2AFP were compared according to the histological grade of HCC differentiation and positivity for agglutinin-reactive fraction of α-fetoprotein (AFP-L3). Among these 44 HCCs, the correlation between T2AFP and TVDT was analyzed for the 27 tumors for which TVDT could be calculated. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) TVDT in Edmondson grade 1 (Ed1), Ed2 and Ed3 HCC was 138.3±110.3, 94.9±91.5 and 32.2±20.8 days, respectively (P<0.05). The mean ± SD T2AFP in Ed2 and Ed3 HCC was 121.0±167.5 and 37.3±24.6 days, respectively (P<0.01). TVDT and T2AFP decreased with histological dedifferentiation of HCC. The mean ± SD T2AFP in the AFP-L3-positive and -negative groups was 63.2±101.2 and 191.9±209.9 days, respectively, with a statistically significant difference between the groups (P<0.01). A significant correlation was observed between T2AFP and TVDT (correlation coefficient, 0.70; P<0.01). A significant correlation was also observed among TVDT, serological indices and histological grades of HCC differentiation. A short T2AFP and/or AFP-L3-positivity were shown to reflect a poorly differentiated HCC histopathology and a higher malignant potential.
肝细胞癌（HCC）常发生于肝硬化肝脏，是全球最常见的恶性肿瘤之一。肿瘤体积倍增时间（TVDT）反映肿瘤自然生长速率，是肿瘤生物学恶性潜能的一个指标。本研究旨在阐明HCC的血清学和组织学指标与TVDT之间的关联。通过在动态计算机断层扫描上测量肿瘤直径增大情况，对53例HCC的TVDT进行分析。比较HCC不同分化组织学分级的TVDT差异。计算44例甲胎蛋白（AFP）水平>200 ng/ml的HCC的AFP倍增时间（T2AFP），并根据HCC分化组织学分级和甲胎蛋白凝集素反应性部分（AFP-L3）阳性情况比较T2AFP差异。在这44例HCC中，对27例可计算TVDT的肿瘤分析T2AFP与TVDT之间的相关性。Edmondson 1级（Ed1）、Ed2和Ed3级HCC的平均±标准差（SD）TVDT分别为138.3±110.3、94.9±91.5和32.2±20.8天（P<0.05）。Ed2和Ed3级HCC的平均±SD T2AFP分别为121.0±167.5和37.3±24.6天（P<0.01）。TVDT和T2AFP随HCC组织学去分化而降低。AFP-L3阳性和阴性组的平均±SD T2AFP分别为63.2±101.2和191.9±209.9天，两组间差异有统计学意义（P<0.01）。观察到T2AFP与TVDT之间存在显著相关性（相关系数，0.70；P<0.01）。在TVDT、血清学指标和HCC分化组织学分级之间也观察到显著相关性。短的T2AFP和/或AFP-L3阳性表明HCC组织病理学分化差且恶性潜能更高。
