Detection of Serum Kl-6 as a Tumor Marker in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignancy affecting approximately one million of people around the world every year and represents the fifth most common cancer worldwide. Early detection of the onset of HCC would help to select more effective therapies for patients, leading to a better prognosis and longer life span. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of KL-6 as a diagnostic marker of HCC in Egyptian patients. Subjects & methods: this study was conducted on three groups. Group 1: included 57 patients (48 males and 9 females) were diagnosed as HCC by the presence of characteristic hepatic masses on abdominal MRI, CT and/or hepatic angiography. Group 2: included 46 patients (37 males and 9 females) hepatitis B virus and/or hepatitis C virus -related cirrhotic patients. Group 3: included 40 subjects (32 males and 8 females) apparently healthy as a control group with no evidence of liver disease and/or neoplasm. Serum levels of AFP and KL-6 were measured in all patients groups and control groups. Results: A highly statistically significant difference was found between the three groups regarding the mean serum levels of both AFP and KL-6 where the highest increase of both markers were found in the HCC group. When Spesrman's correlation coefficient was done in the patients, a significant positive correlation (P value <0.001) of serum levels of AFP & KL-6 was found. When analysis of the results of AFP in the patients with HCC, this study found 39 patients (68.4%) having + ve AFP level (high AFP than its normal range), while 48 HCC patients (84.2%) are + ve for KL-6 level (high KL-6 than its normal range). In patients with liver cirrhosis, 19 (41.3%) patients have + ve AFP while 24 cirrhotic patients (52.2%) are + ve for KL-6 level. Results of ROC curves analysis show that the optimal cut-off values were 437 U/ml for KL-6 (sensitivity = 91.7% & specificity = 85.7%) and 102 IU/ml for AFP with sensitivity = 84.6% and specificity = 89.4%. Conclusion: These results suggest that KL-6 could be a promising tumor marker for early detection of HCC in Egyptian patients. A large scale study is needed to investigate its clinical usefulness in screening cirrhotic patient for HCC. [Soha Z. El-Shenawy, Maha M El-Sabawy, Eman Abd El-Razik, Maha M Allam. Detection of Serum Kl-6 as a Tumor Marker in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Life Science Journal. 2012;9(1):667-673] (ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 97