Des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin and proliferative activity of hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND

Des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) is a useful marker for the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this report we investigated the relationship between the positivity of DCP and proliferative activity of HCC and discuss the cause of poor prognosis of DCP-positive HCC.

METHODS

Immunohistochemical and clinicopathologic study was done in 114 patients with resected HCC measuring less than 6 cm in diameter by using monoclonal antibody for proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA).

RESULTS

PCNA labeling index (PCNA-LI) was significantly higher in the patients with DCP-positive HCC than in those with DCP-negative HCC; also a positive correlation was noted between the PCNA-LI and the DCP level. We divided patients into two groups according to the PCNA-LI. In the high PCNA-LI group the patients with DCP-positive HCC exhibited a higher PCNA-LI than did the patients with DCP-negative HCC. As for pathologic prognostic factors, the DCP-positive high PCNA-LI group showed the highest incidence of tumor thrombus of the portal vein and intrahepatic metastasis while also exhibiting the lowest recurrence-freedom rate. From multivariate analysis we find that DCP, as well as PCNA-LI, is one of the risk factors for recurrence of HCC after hepatectomy.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results thus suggest that DCP-positive HCC showed high PCNA-LI, and this might be the main cause for early intrahepatic spread and poor prognosis of DCP-positive HCC.