Evaluation of
Evaluation of Serum Soluble Interleukin -2Receptor (IL –2R) and α-Fetoprotein Levels in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Sobhy Abdel Hamid1, Ismail M. El Mancy2, Hala El Adrosy3, Abd-Elmohsen Eldesoky3 and Nahla A. Abdellatef4
Departments of 1Tropical Medicine, 2Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Al- azhar Unvi., Cairo, Egypt; 3Internal Medicine Department; Gastroenterology and Hepatology unit, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura Univ. Egypt; 4Clinical pathology Department, National Cancer Institute Cairo Univ., Egypt.[email protected]
Abstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) develops during the natural history of cirrhosis. HCC lesion of one cm in diameter with high or low echogenicity can be detected by ultrasonography and confirmed by needle biopsy. However, it is still very difficult to detect small isoechogenic HCC lesion, especially when AFP is normal. The serum level of IL-2R has been proposed as a marker of HCC. The aim of our study was to evaluate the serum soluble (IL-2R) andα-fetoprotein levels in patients with liver cirrhosis and HCC. All patients were subjected to full history taking, clinical examination, laboratory investigations, abdominal ultrasonography and ultrasonography guided percutaneous fine needle aspiration biopsy. To evaluate the role of serum IL2R in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we simultaneously studied both IL2R activity and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels in 40 patients with cirrhosis, 40 patients with HCC and 40 healthy subjects. Serum soluble IL -2R activity in patients with HCC (573 ± 210 nmol/ml/hr) and cirrhosis (285 ± 143 nmol/ml/hr) was significantly higher than controls (216 ± 117 nmol/ml/hr, p < 0.001). With 450 nmol/ml/hr (mean value of controls plus 2 standard deviations) considered as the cut-off point, IL-2R was more sensitive (76 vs 65.4%) but less specific (90.9 vs 95.5%) than AFP at a level of > 400 ng/ml as a tumor marker of HCC. We concluded that IL-2R is a useful marker, in conjunction with AFP and ultrasonography, for detecting HCC.
[Sobhy Abdel Hamid, Ismail M. El Mancy, Hala El Adrosy, Abd-Elmohsen Eldesoky and Nahla A. Abdellatef. Evaluation of Serum Soluble Interleukin -2Receptor (IL –2R) and α-Fetoprotein Levels in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma. J Am Sci 2012;8(10):767-771]. (ISSN: 1545-1003). http://www.jofamericanscience.org. 103
Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); cirrhosis; ultrasonography; isoechogenic HCC lesion;patients Full Text 103
