title: Prognostic significance of tumor-associated trypsin inhibitor (TATI) and human chorionic gonadotropin-β (hCGβ) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer and the third most frequent cause of cancer death worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of serum tumor-associated trypsin inhibitor (TATI) and the free β subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCGβ) in patients with HCC.
  
  
  METHODS
  The serum concentrations of TATI and hCGβ were determined by time-resolved immunofluorometric assays (IFMA) in pretreatment serum samples from 144 patients with HCC. Clinical data were retrieved from patient records and survival data obtained from Statistics Finland.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall cumulative disease-specific survival was 69% at 1 year, 50% at 2 years and 33% at 5 years. Disease-specific median survival time was 26 months. The overall survival in patients with low serum concentrations of TATI or hCGβ was statistically significantly better than in patients with elevated concentrations (p = 0.003 and 0.003, respectively). In multivariate analysis, both serum TATI and serum hCGβ were independent prognostic markers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results imply that elevated serum concentrations of TATI and hCGβ are predictors of adverse prognosis in patients with HCC and appear to be useful adjuncts in predicting prognosis in patients with HCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Transplantation and Liver Surgery, Clinic of Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Ilana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lyytinen
authors.forename: Marko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lempinen
authors.forename: Arno
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nordin
authors.forename: Heikki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mäkisalo
authors.forename: Ulf-Håkan
authors.initials: UH
authors.lastname: Stenman
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Isoniemi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D014359:Trypsin Inhibitor, Kazal Pancreatic / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins; D014359:Trypsin Inhibitor, Kazal Pancreatic