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Article Type

Original Study

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study is to evaluate serum peroxiredoxin-3 (PRDX3) as a noninvasive serum marker for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Background Early diagnosis of HCC is the most important step in successful treatment. However, it is usually rare because of the lack of a highly sensitive and specific biomarker so that the HCC is usually fatal within a few months after diagnosis. PRDX3 is a c-Myc target gene that is required for mitochondrial homeostasis and neoplastic transformation. In our study, we attempted to evaluate the value of PRDX3 as a useful serum biomarker for the detection of HCC. Patients and methods PRDX3, α-fetoprotein (AFP), and other biochemical parameters were measured in serum samples from 50 patients. They were subdivided into three groups: 20 patients with cirrhosis and HCC (group I), 20 patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) without HCC (group II), and 10 healthy controls (group III). Correlations between serum PRDX3 expression and clinicopathological variables were analyzed. Results Serum PRDX3 was significantly higher in HCC patients than in the LC and healthy control groups. The sensitivity and specificity of serum PRDX3 for the diagnosis of HCC were 84.2 and 79.8%, respectively, at a cutoff of 162 ng/ml and the area under the curve was 0.877 compared with that of AFP (0.721) with a sensitivity of 70.1% and a specificity of 60%. Moreover, serum PRDX3 expression was strongly associated with AFP levels and focal lesion size. Conclusion Serum PRDX3 level, at a cutoff value of 162 ng/ml, could be a valuable marker for the detection of HCC in patients with LC.

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