title: Distinctions between clinicopathological factors and prognosis of alpha-fetoprotein negative and positive hepatocelluar carcinoma patients.
abstract: Serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a significant marker for clinical diagnosis and prognosis evaluation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. However, some proportion of liver cancer patients are AFP-negative (AFP ≤20 ng/ml). In order to study the differences between clinicopathological factors and prognosis of alpha-fetoprotein negative and positive patients, a total of 114 cases (41 AFP-negative and 73 AFP-positive) were selected for our research. By systematically statistical analysis, the results demonstrated that compared with AFP-negative patients, AFP-positive examples were more likely to feature cirrhosis nodules, non-complete neoplasm capsules, and a poor Edmondson-steiner grade. Furthermore, AFP-negative patients demonstrated a favorable long-term prognosis. By univariate analysis and multivariate analysis with Cox's proportional hazards model, multiple tumors were found to be independent risk factors for worse survival of AFP negative patients; however, less tumor-free margins, multiple tumors and Edmondson-steiner grades III/IV, proved to be independent risk factors leading to a poor prognosis of AFP positive cases. Finally, we can infer that high levels of AFP signify a highly malignant tumor and unfavorable prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Ming-Hui
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.forename: Ji-Chao
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Fan-Di
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Ling-Qiang
authors.initials: LQ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhi-Xin
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jing-Yao
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Hu-Lin
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Si-Nan
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xin-Shen
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yan-Zhou
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins