title: A novel biomarker TERTmRNA is applicable for early detection of hepatoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We previously reported a highly sensitive method for serum human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) mRNA for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) are good markers for HCC. In this study, we verified the significance of hTERTmRNA in a large scale multi-centered trial, collating quantified values with clinical course.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 638 subjects including 303 patients with HCC, 89 with chronic hepatitis (CH), 45 with liver cirrhosis (LC) and 201 healthy individuals, we quantified serum hTERTmRNA using the real-time RT-PCR. We examined its sensitivity and specificity in HCC diagnosis, clinical significance, ROC curve analysis in comparison with other tumor markers, and its correlations with the clinical parameters using Pearson relative test and multivariate analyses. Furthermore, we performed a prospective and comparative study to observe the change of biomarkers, including hTERTmRNA in HCC patients receiving anti-cancer therapies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  hTERTmRNA was demonstrated to be independently correlated with clinical parameters; tumor size and tumor differentiation (P < 0.001, each). The sensitivity/specificity of hTERTmRNA in HCC diagnosis showed 90.2%/85.4% for hTERT. hTERTmRNA proved to be superior to AFP, AFP-L3, and DCP in the diagnosis and underwent an indisputable change in response to therapy. The detection rate of small HCC by hTERTmRNA was superior to the other markers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  hTERTmRNA is superior to conventional tumor markers in the diagnosis and recurrence of HCC at an early stage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiological and Therapeutic Science, Tottori University, Japan. mnmiura@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Norimasa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Osaki
authors.forename: Miki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nagashima
authors.forename: Michimori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kohno
authors.forename: Kensho
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yorozu
authors.forename: Kohei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shomori
authors.forename: Takamasa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kanbe
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oyama
authors.forename: Yukihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
authors.forename: Shigeo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maruyama
authors.forename: Eijiro
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Noma
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Horie
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kudo
authors.forename: Seigo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakaguchi
authors.forename: Yasuaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirooka
authors.forename: Hisao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Hironaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Goshi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shiota
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D018450:Disease Progression; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics*; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019098:Telomerase / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D019098:Telomerase