2Department of Gastroenterology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Internal Medicine, Istanbul-Turkey
3Department of Clinical Oncology, Istanbul University Institute of Oncology, Istanbul-Turkey DOI : 10.5505/tjo.2018.1742 OBJECTIVE
The current study was an investigation of the serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and glypican 3 (GPC-3), as potential diagnostic and prognostic indicators in cirrhotic patients and patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or who are predisposed to develop HCC.
METHODS
A total of 54 HCC patients and 30 patients with cirrhosis were enrolled in this study. The pretreatment
serum level of GPC-3, VEGF, and IL-6 was determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
A control group of 21 healthy age- and sex-matched individuals was also included.
RESULTS
The serum VEGF level was statistically significantly higher in the HCC patients compared with the control
group (p=0.001). The serum IL-6 level was also higher in the HCC patients (p=0.002) and the cirrhotic
patients (p=0.006) compared with the control group, with a statistically significant difference. There
was also a statistically significant difference between patients with HCC and the patients with cirrhosis
(p=0.001). Furthermore, the serum GPC-3 level was significantly higher in the HCC patients (p=0.009)
and the cirrhotic patients (p=0.001) compared with the healthy control group.
CONCLUSION
To our knowledge, this is the first study to determine the serum values of these parameters in patients
with HCC and cirrhosis. They may be useful markers to help clinicians reach a diagnosis of HCC.