Original Article
Copyright ©2010 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 21, 2010; 16(35): 4410-4415
Published online Sep 21, 2010. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v16.i35.4410
Diagnostic value of glypican-3 in serum and liver for primary hepatocellular carcinoma
Hui Liu, Peng Li, Yun Zhai, Chun-Feng Qu, Li-Jie Zhang, Yu-Fen Tan, Ning Li, Hui-Guo Ding
Hui Liu, Li-Jie Zhang, Department of Pathology, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
Peng Li, Yun Zhai, Yu-Fen Tan, Ning Li, Hui-Guo Ding, Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
Chun-Feng Qu, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Institute/Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China
Author contributions: Liu H and Li P contributed equally to this work and measured the GPC3 in serum and hepatic tissue; Tan YF measured the serum GPC3; Zhai Y was involved in the patient care and clinical data collection; Liu H and Zhang LJ observed the hepatic pathology; Li P, Qu CF and Ding HG performed the statistical analysis and wrote the paper; Li N and Ding HG designed the research; Ding HG also worked as the PI.
Supported by State Key Project Specialized for Infectious Diseases, No. 2008ZX10002-015; Beijing Municipal Health Bureau Key Project for Capital Medical Development, No. 2007-1021
Correspondence to: Hui-Guo Ding, MD, Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China. dinghuiguo@medmail.com.cn
Telephone: +86-10-83997155 Fax: +86-10-63295525
Received: May 1, 2010
Revised: May 27, 2010
Accepted: June 3, 2010
Published online: September 21, 2010
Abstract

AIM: To evaluate the diagnostic value of glypican-3 (GPC3) in serum and liver for primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS: Serum levels of GPC3 and α-fetoprotein (AFP) were measured in 75 patients with primary HCC and 32 patients with liver cirrhosis. Expression of GPC3 and AFP in 58 HCC and 12 cirrhotic specimens was detected with immunohistochemical staining.

RESULTS: When the cut-off value of serum GPC3 was set at 300 ng/L, its sensitivity and specificity for HCC were 47.0% and 93.5%, respectively. Among the 14 patients with HCC at stage according to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer staging system, the serum GPC3 level was higher than 300 ng/L in 50% (7/14) patients, the serum AFP level was not ≥ 400 μg/L in any patient. Combined serum AFP and GPC3 significantly increased the sensitivity to the diagnosis of HCC. The GPC3 expression was detected in cytoplasm of HCC cells but not in hepatocytes and bile ducts of benign tumors. Among the 58 HCC patients, the GPC3 was expressed in 100% (28/28) patients with their serum AFP level ≥ 400 μg/L, and in 90% (27/30) patients with their AFP level < 400 μg/L, respectively. The GPC3 was weakly or negatively expressed in all paracarcinomatous and cirrhotic tissue samples. AFP positive HCC cells were only found in 1 out of the 58 HCC patients.

CONCLUSION: GPC3 protein is a sensitive and specific serum marker for diagnosis of early HCC. Its expression in liver tissues can be used to discriminate tumor cells from benign hepatic cells.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma, α-fetoprotein, Glypican-3, Diagnosis