Serum Endoglin and IL-6 Levels as Complementary Diagnostic Biomarkers for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Egyptian Liver Cirrhosis Patients

摘要

Background and Objective: Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common fatal diseases in the Egyptian population. Alpha-fetoprotein is widely used for hepatocellular carcinoma screening and diagnosis. Now-a-days, it couldn’t be considered as an effective diagnostic tool due to its low sensitivity and specificity. So, the aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum endoglin and IL-6 as complementary biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma patients with underlying cirrhosis compared to alpha-fetoprotein. Materials and Methods: There were 70 individuals included and divided into three main groups, group I, 30 liver cirrhosis patients, group II, 30 liver cirrhosis patients with associated hepatocellular carcinoma and group III, 10 matched healthy volunteers as a control group. Serum IL-6 and endoglin levels were estimated in all subjects using the ELISA technique. Results: In group II patients, the sensitivity of endoglin and IL-6 was 93.3 and 83.3%, respectively versus 60% for α-fetoprotein. The combined use of endoglin and α-fetoprotein improved the sensitivity to 97% while the combined use of IL-6 and α-fetoprotein improved the sensitivity to 94%. Conclusion: Based on the results reported in this study, it was found that endoglin and IL-6 are very useful tools for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in Egyptian cirrhotic patients. They were found more specific and sensitive than AFP. Both serum markers showed significant higher levels in hepatocellular carcinoma patients compared to the liver cirrhosis patients and the control group. Endoglin and IL-6 were found to be more sensitive, specific and reliable serum markers than α-fetoprotein for diagnosis and early detection of liver cirrhosis associated hepatocellular carcinoma. The combined use of each one of them with α-fetoprotein can improve the sensitivity and the specificity in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. So, they could be useful complementary biomarkers in the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis associated hepatocellular carcinoma.