| Abstrakt: |
Awareness of early spread of hepatocellular carcinoma is crucial in selecting patients for surgical intervention. α‐Fetoprotein is widely used as a serum marker for hepatocellular carcinoma. Our aim was to evaluate the specificity of α‐fetoprotein‐mRNA transcription in cells in the peripheral blood for diagnosing early spread of hepatocellular carcinoma in black Africans. α‐Fetoprotein‐, albumin‐ and prothrombin‐mRNA were detected in peripheral blood mononuclear cells by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction. α‐Fetoprotein‐mRNA was shown in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in 53% (35/66) of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, but also in 45% (10/22) of healthy blacks, 64% (14/22) of black patients with acute hepatitis, 55% (11/20) of those with chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis and 75% (9/12) of those with hepatic metastases (from a number of primary sites). Specificity of albumin‐ and prothrombin‐mRNA was better than that of α‐fetoprotein‐mRNA, although the sensitivity was reduced. The corresponding prevalence of albumin‐mRNA for each group of patients or controls was 30% (20/66), 9% (2/22), 41% (9/22), 10% (2/20), and 17% (2/12), respectively, and for prothrombin‐mRNA 27% (18/66), 4.5% (1/22), 27% (6/22), 20% (4/20) and 17% (2/12), respectively. We conclude that the non‐specificity of α‐fetoprotein‐mRNA transcription in peripheral blood in recognizing malignant hepatocytes in the circulation severely limits its usefulness in diagnosing the early spread of hepatocellular carcinoma in black Africans. |
Plný text