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Insulin‐like growth factor 1 in hepatocellular carcinoma and metastatic liver cancer in men
Author(s) -
Stuver Sherri O.,
Kuper Hannah,
Tzonou Anastasia,
Lagiou Pagona,
Spanos Evangelos,
Hsieh ChungCheng,
Mantzoros Christos,
Trichopoulos Dimitrios
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0215(20000701)87:1<118::aid-ijc17>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - hepatocellular carcinoma , medicine , immunoradiometric assay , autocrine signalling , insulin like growth factor , cancer , hepatitis c virus , gastroenterology , carcinoma , liver cancer , paracrine signalling , growth factor , oncology , virus , immunology , radioimmunoassay , receptor
Abstract The insulin‐like growth factor (IGF) axis has important autocrine, paracrine, and endocrine roles in the promotion of growth. Alterations of the IGF system have recently been implicated in the pathogenesis of several malignancies, but the relation to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk is unclear. To address this issue, we used an immunoradiometric assay to quantify IGF‐1 levels in serum samples in a hospital‐based, case‐control study in Greece. The study subjects were all men and included 53 patients with HCC positive for hepatitis B and/or hepatitis C virus infections, 20 virus‐negative HCC patients, 25 virus‐negative patients with metastatic liver cancer (MLC), and 111 virus‐negative control subjects. Data were analyzed by multiple linear regression, using IGF‐1 as the dependent variable. The mean value of IGF‐1 was 65.9 ng/ml among virus‐positive HCC patients, 79.5 ng/ml among virus‐negative HCC patients, 110.8 ng/ml among patients with MLC, and 174.7 ng/ml among hospital controls. After controlling for the degree of liver damage, as assessed by prothrombin time and serum albumin level, the reduction in IGF‐1 level among HCC patients was found to be more than could be attributed to liver damage alone. This finding may have both diagnostic and pathophysiological implications. Int. J. Cancer 87:118–121, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.