How to diagnose liver cancer in its early stages? Analysis of markers for early diagnosis of liver cancer

Experts told reporters that an ideal liver cancer diagnostic marker must be highly specific and sensitive, as well as reproducible and with good patient compliance. Currently, alpha-fetoprotein, as the only most widely used serological marker, plays an important role in the diagnosis and monitoring of liver cancer, but its detection rate for early liver cancer is not high.

The GpC3 gene is located on human chromosome X26.10 and is involved in life processes such as growth, development, and cell response to growth factors. The expert research team revealed that GpC3, as a specific liver cancer diagnostic marker, has a sensitivity of 72% and a specificity of 100% for early liver cancer. GpC3 can be detected in tumor tissues less than 3 cm in patients, while the detection rate of alpha-fetoprotein is only 22%; 18 of 34 liver cancer patients tested positive for GpC3 in their serum, while only 1 of 20 patients with cirrhosis tested positive. The research team also tested GpC3 in the serum of liver cancer patients. The results showed that when the critical value was 2.0 nanograms per milliliter, the sensitivity and specificity were 51% and 90%, respectively. More importantly, there was no obvious correlation between the detection of alpha-fetoprotein in the same sample. If GpC3 and alpha-fetoprotein are used in combination, the sensitivity of liver cancer can be increased to 72%.

Experts said that it has become a consensus among scientists that a group of complementary markers are needed to detect early liver cancer. GpC3 not only helps to detect liver cancer early, but also has strong liver cancer specificity. For example, as a supplement to alpha-fetoprotein, it is expected to significantly improve the accuracy of liver cancer diagnosis.