title: A decrease in AFP level related to administration of interferon in patients with chronic hepatitis C and a high level of AFP.
abstract: It is known that there is a very high incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among patients with type C chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis, and alpha -fetoprotein (AFP) has been widely used as a diagnostic marker for HCC. However, there are some patients showing continuous high AFP values but no evidence of HCC, and some studies have defined such patients as a high-risk group for HCC. In vitro study has shown that interferon (IFN) inhibits cell proliferation and enhances apoptosis as well as specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes against HCC, resulting in direct anticancer actions. In this study, we investigated the effect of IFN on AFP changes in chronic hepatitis C patients. Of 40 patients with chronic hepatitis C in whom diagnostic imaging confirmed the absence of HCC, 24 patients showed high pretreatment AFP values (high AFP group: AFP level > 10 ng/dl; mean +/- SD, 46.3 +/- 41.5 ng/dl) and 16 showed low pretreatment AFP values (low AFP group: pretreatment AFP level < or = 10 ng/dl; mean +/- SD, 5.3 +/- 2.2 ng/dl). Pretreatment clinical parameters were statistically evaluated in relation to the AFP value. In the high AFP group, the platelet count, albumin level, and prothrombin (%) were significantly lower (P = 0.047, P = 0.0002, and P = 0.044, respectively), suggesting that AFP value increases with advancing liver disease. Subsequently 27 patients were administered IFN (IFN group), and the remaining 13 patients were administered Stronger Neo-minophagen C (SNMC), a glycyrrhizin preparation (SNMC group), as a control group receiving liver-protective therapy. Alanine aminotransferase was reduced in both the IFN and the SNMC group (mean, 132.56 to 60.07 mg/ml [P < 0001] and 147.85 to 56.23 mg/ml [P = 0.0240], respectively). AFP was significantly reduced in the IFN group (mean, 30.03 to 12.65 ng/ml; P = 0.0034), but there was no significant change in AFP in the SNMC group (mean, 29.70 to 39.17 ng/ml). AFP is useful for diagnosing HCC; however, some patients show a persistently high AFP level in the absence of HCC, and these patients have been described as a high-risk group for HCC. In this study, we found that IFN therapy but not SNMC universally reduced the AFP baseline. Since AFP is a significant predictor for HCC, therapeutic strategies for hepatitis C, e.g., long-term low-dose IFN treatment, may reduce hepatocarcinogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Kurume Medical Center, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. muracy@h3.dion.ne.jp
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Murashima
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haramaki
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yutani
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakashima
authors.forename: Kazunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ide
authors.forename: Ryukichi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kumashiro
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sata
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins