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Serum α‐L‐fucosidase activity and tumor size in hepatocellular carcinoma
Author(s) -
Takahashi Hirofumi,
Saibara Toshiji,
Iwamura Shinichi,
Tomita Akira,
Maeda Takashi,
Onishi Saburo,
Yamamoto Yasutake,
Enzan Hideaki
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.488
H-Index - 361
eISSN - 1527-3350
pISSN - 0270-9139
DOI - 10.1002/hep.1840190615
Subject(s) - hepatocellular carcinoma , cirrhosis , medicine , gastroenterology , fucosidase , carcinoma , alpha fetoprotein , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , glycoprotein , fucose
The serum level of α‐L‐fucosidase activity has been suggested as a useful marker in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma, although the precise mechanism behind the elevation of this parameter has not been determined. We found that the serum α‐L‐fucosidase activity level was significantly higher in 67 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (695.1 ± 245.5 nmol/ml/hr) than in 47 patients with cirrhosis (389.1 ± 188.2 nmol/ml/hr; p<0.001) and in 54 controls (202.0 ± 104.6 nmol/ml/hr; p<0.001). However, α‐L‐fucosidase activity was not correlated with tumor size ( r =0.134), whereas the α‐fetoprotein level was correlated with tumor size ( r =0.580, p<0.001). When 515.8 nmol/ml/hr was taken as the cutoff value (mean value in the controls plus 3 standard deviations), α‐L‐fucosidase activity was above the cutoff value in 12 of the 17 patients with a hepatocellular carcinoma less than 2 cm in diameter, in 28 of the 37 patients with a hepatocellular carcinoma less than 3 cm in diameter and in 52 of the 67 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. In contrast, only 10 of the 47 patients with cirrhosis had levels above the cutoff value. These findings suggest that an increase in serum α‐L‐fucosidase activity in patients with cirrhosis may be a marker for detecting a hepatocellular carcinoma, especially a small tumor, because α‐fetoprotein and des‐γ‐carboxy‐prothrombin are less promising as tumor markers. (H EPATOLOGY 1994;19:1414–1417.)