Early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma by real-time ultrasonography. A prospective study.
For early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), real-time ultrasonography (US) was performed prospectively in 528 patients, including 236 with cirrhosis, 81 with chronic hepatitis, 168 asymptomatic hepatitis B surface antigen carriers, and 43 with a family history of HCC. Simultaneous measurement of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level was also done. In addition, 233 patients had regular controls at 3- to 6-month intervals, with an average follow-up period of 1.4 years. On initial screening, a total of 17 patients were found to have HCC: 13 in the cirrhotic group, 3 in the HCC family group, and 1 in the asymptomatic carriers. Of these HCCs, 7 were smaller than 3 cm, 6 were between 3 to 5 cm, and 4 were larger than 5 cm. In patients with tumors smaller than 5 cm, the AFP levels were normal in 46.2%, between 20 to 400 ng/ml in another 46.2%, and only 7.6% were over 400 ng/ml. On follow-up, another seven patients, all in the cirrhotic group, were found to have HCCs varying from 1.6 to 4.7 cm; three of them had normal serum AFP level. The authors conclude that real-time US is more sensitive than AFP assay in early detection of HCC, and the high-risk subjects should receive this procedure at regular intervals.
J C
JC
Sheu
J L
JL
Sung
D S
DS
Chen
M Y
MY
Lai
T H
TH
Wang
J Y
JY
Yu
P M
PM
Yang
C N
CN
Chuang
P C
PC
Yang
C S
CS
Lee
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / Q000175:diagnosis; D012306:Risk; D014463:Ultrasonography; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000378:metabolism
D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins