Martini Andrea, Gallotta Andrea, Pontisso Patrizia, Fassina Giorgio
Andrea Martini, Patrizia Pontisso, Department of Medicine, University of Padua, 35122 Padua, Italy.
World J Hepatol. 2015 Dec 18;7(29):2913-9. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i29.2913.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the main cause of chronic liver disease and cirrhosis in Western countries. Over time, the majority of cirrhotic patients develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the most common fatal cancers worldwide - fourth for incidence rate. A high public health priority need is the development of biomarkers to screen for liver disease progression and for early diagnosis of HCC development, particularly in the high risk population represented by HCV-positive patients with cirrhosis. Several studies have shown that serological determination of a novel biomarker, squamous cell carcinoma antigen-immunoglobulins M (SCCA-IgM), might be useful to identify patients with progressive liver disease. In the initial part of this review we summarize the main clinical studies that have investigated this new circulating biomarker on HCV-infected patients, providing evidence that in chronic hepatitis C SCCA-IgM may be used to monitor progression of liver disease, and also to assess the virological response to antiviral treatment. In the last part of this review we address other, not less important, clinical applications of this biomarker in hepatology.
丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）是西方国家慢性肝病和肝硬化的主要病因。随着时间的推移，大多数肝硬化患者会发展为肝细胞癌（HCC），这是全球最常见的致命癌症之一——发病率排名第四。一项高度优先的公共卫生需求是开发生物标志物，以筛查肝病进展情况并早期诊断HCC的发生，特别是在以丙型肝炎病毒阳性肝硬化患者为代表的高危人群中。多项研究表明，一种新型生物标志物鳞状细胞癌抗原免疫球蛋白M（SCCA-IgM）的血清学检测，可能有助于识别患有进行性肝病的患者。在本综述的第一部分，我们总结了主要的临床研究，这些研究对HCV感染患者的这种新的循环生物标志物进行了调查，提供了证据表明在慢性丙型肝炎中，SCCA-IgM可用于监测肝病进展，也可用于评估对抗病毒治疗的病毒学反应。在本综述的最后一部分，我们探讨了这种生物标志物在肝病学中其他同样重要的临床应用。
