BACKGROUND: The usefulness of Des-g-carboxyprothrombin (DCP) has been indicated in areas where hepatitis C virus is prevalent. DCP has yet to be used in China. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of DCP in Chinese patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) predominantly caused by hepatitis B.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: 329 subjects with HCC and 371 subjects without HCC that all underwent surgery were consecutively enrolled. Serum AFP and plasma DCP levels in all subjects and 153 healthy volunteers were measured and analyzed.

RESULTS: Of 329 subjects with HCC, 258 (78.4%) were HBsAg positive. The median level of plasma DCP was 853.72 mAU/mL in subjects with HCC, 26.43 mAU/mL in subjects without HCC, and 29.91 m AU/mL in healthy volunteers. A cut-off DCP value of 87 mAU/mL yielded the optimal sensitivity of 74.80% and a specificity of 83.33% for differentiating subjects with HCC from subjects without HCC. The combination of AFP of 21.33 ng/mL and DCP of 87 mAU/mL had a sensitivity of 82.60% for tumors no larger than 2 cm, as well as a sensitivity of 90% for tumors larger than 5 cm.

CONCLUSIONS: The combination of DCP and AFP yielded great improvement in sensitivity in differentiating subjects with HCC from subjects without HCC. These two markers may be incorporated in the protocol for surveillance and diagnosis of HCC in the high-risk Chinese population.

Keywords: Biomarkers - blood, Biomarkers, Tumor - blood, Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - virology, Hepacivirus - isolation & purification, Hepatitis C, Chronic - blood, Immunoenzyme Techniques, Liver Cirrhosis - blood, Liver Neoplasms - virology, Protein Precursors - blood, Prothrombin, alpha-Fetoproteins - metabolism