Alpha fetoprotein for screening for hepatocellular cancer in populations with viral hepatitis B: an appraisal of Thai reports.
Hepatocellular cancer (HCC) is a common gastrointestinal malignancy in hepatitis cases which is difficult to detect in early stages. Alpha fetoprotein (AFP) is a tumor marker which has been introduced for screening but in Southeast Asia where the rate of hepatitis B seropositivity is very high, the diagnostic benefit is still doubtful. Here, a literature review of three Thai reports was conducted, covering 4,295 cases. The overall diagnostic activity showed sensitivity, specificity, false positives and false negatives of 73.5%, 98.9%, 26.5% and 1.1%, respectively. Thus the sensitivity is insufficient for screening purposes and serum AFP can not be recommended for hepatitis B carriers over standard tests.
Wiwanitkit
Viroj
V
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand 10330. wviroj@yahoo.com
D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013785:Thailand; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*
D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins