title: [Clinical significance of type III procollagen peptide in sera of patients with liver cancer].
abstract: We assayed type III procollagen peptide in the sera of 213 patients with various liver diseases and 23 normal controls by radioimmunoassay. The non-cancerous limit of the serum level of type III procollagen peptide was defined as the mean +/- 2 SD of the patients with chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and alcoholic liver disease; it was 50 ng/ml. The percentage of type III procollagen peptide in sera exceeding this limit was 22.2% in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and 17.4% in metastatic liver cancer. Only patients with liver cirrhosis accompanied by alcoholic hepatitis exceeded this limit. In patients with hepatocellular carcinoma with peptide concentrations above 50 ng/ml, the serum level of GOT, GPT, LDH, T. Bil., LAP, gamma-GTP and T. Chol. was significantly higher than in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma whose serum peptide level was below 20 ng/ml.
mesh_terms: D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000201:enzymology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D010450:Endopeptidases / Q000097:blood*; D006505:Hepatitis / Q000201:enzymology; D006801:Humans; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000201:enzymology; D008108:Liver Diseases, Alcoholic / Q000201:enzymology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology*; D011348:Procollagen N-Endopeptidase
chemical_list: D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D010450:Endopeptidases; D011348:Procollagen N-Endopeptidase