title: Acarboxy prothrombin (PIVKA II) as a tumour marker for hepatocellular carcinoma and other liver diseases.
abstract: The clinical usefulness of plasma abnormal prothrombin, defined as protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist II: (PIVKA II) as a tumour marker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and other liver diseases has been evaluated. PIVKA II concentrations were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with monoclonal antibody that reacts with PIVKA II but does not cross-react with normal prothrombin. Seventy four patients (74%) out of 100 with HCC had abnormal PIVKA II levels above 0.5 AU/ml (median = 3.4 AU/ml). The level was above 1.0 AU/ml in 66 (66%) of the patients. In contrast the level of PIVKA II was low in patients with bilharzial periportal fibrosis (median = 0.09 AU/ml), patients with liver cirrhosis (median = 0.13 AU/ml), patients with hepatitis (median = 0.025 AU/ml), and essentially undetectable in all the 34 controls. The diagnostic ability of serum alphafoetoprotein (AFP) was also evaluated in these patients. AFP alone can diagnose 51% of the HCC cases. Of the remaining patients with low or negative AFP levels (65%) can be diagnosed using PIVKA II. Abnormal prothrombin is a potential marker for the laboratory diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000378:metabolism*; D011516:Prothrombin / Q000378:metabolism*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D011498:Protein Precursors; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins; C008208:acarboxyprothrombin; D011516:Prothrombin