Tumour Markers for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Protein antigens

• Heat shock proteins HSP70 and HSP27 respond to stress. The positive rate of HSP70 and HSP27 in detecting HCC has been found to be 56.3 and 61.9%, respectively.

HSP70 is positively correlated with tumor size, portal vein invasion and tumor stage, making it a good indicator of prognosis for HCC.

On the other hand, HSP27 was only associated with HCC which are infected by hepatitis B virus (HBV).

• Glypican-3 (GPC3),squamous cell carcinoma antigen(SCCA) are other tumour markers associated with cell growth, development, differentiation and migration.

Golgi protein 73 (GP73) is a significant factor in many hepatic diseases and in the serum has a sensitivity of 76.9% in the diagnosis of HCC.

• Tumor-associated glycoprotein 72 (TAG-72) is significantly elevated in HCC tissues, and is closely correlated with poor survival in patients with HCC. The increased expression may promote tumor invasion and metastasis with important clinical implications.

• Zinc-α2-glycoprotein is overexpressed in the HCC and being considered as a novel tumor marker