Improved Screening Tests For Liver Cancer

Date: Apr-29-2013New data from two clinical trials presented at the International Liver Congress™ 2013 demonstrate substantial improvements in the detection of both hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma (CC) using diagnostic urine tests.

HCC is common throughout the world and most often develops as a late complication of chronic viral hepatitis or cirrhosis of any cause. The overall survival rate of HCC is poor and so screening for HCC offers the best hope for early detection, eligibility for treatment, and improved survival. While effective therapies exist, the available screening tests to detect HCC - alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and ultrasound - are reported to have low sensitivity and specificity (50-85% and 70-90%, respectively).

Preliminary data demonstrate the performance of urinary metabolites in helping to diagnose HCC. Urine samples were collected from four subject groups in West Africa on the case-control platform of PROLIFICA 'Prevention of Liver Fibrosis and Carcinoma in Africa' as follows: patients with HCC (n=65), cirrhosis (Cir, n=36), non-cirrhotic liver disease (DC, n=110) and healthy controls (NC, n=91). HCC patients were diagnosed using EASL guidelines.

Multivariate analyses of urinary nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra showed a distinct profile for urine of patients with HCC compared to Cir, DC and NC with sensitivity of 87%, 86% and 97% respectively. These results suggest that Urinary metabolite profile outperforms serum AFP which only differentiated HCC from these groups by 79% (Cir), 75% (DC) and 76% NC) respectively. The metabolites that were significantly increased (pcancer is rare and almost always adenocarcinoma which starts in the lining of the bile duct. The cause of most cholangiocarcinomas is unknown but people with chronic inflammatory bowel conditions or congential abnormalities of the bile duct have a higher risk of developing the cancer.

Courtesy: Medical News Today Note: Any medical information available in this news section is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional.