RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Clinical utility of simple non-invasive liver fibrosis indices for predicting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among Egyptian patients
JF Journal of Clinical Pathology
JO J Clin Pathol
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Association of Clinical Pathologists
SP 154
OP 160
DO 10.1136/jclinpath-2014-202462
VO 68
IS 2
A1 Iman Attia Abdelgawad
YR 2015
UL http://jcp.bmj.com/content/68/2/154.abstract
AB Aim Serological indices for liver fibrosis have been widely used to estimate liver fibrosis, but as far as we know they have not been tested to predict hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our aim is to study the clinical usefulness of some simple non-invasive fibrosis indices in the prediction of HCC among Egyptian patients. Methods Ninety patients with HCC who were presented to the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, were included in this study, together with 30 patients with cirrhosis as a benign control group and 30 apparently healthy volunteers as a normal control group. FIB4 Score, Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) to Platelet (PLT) Ratio Index (APRI) Score, AST/PLT ratio, Age/PLT Index and AST/alanine aminotransferase indices were calculated for all patients and controls and were tested for their clinical use to predict HCC. Results Double combination between alpha-fetoprotein and FIB4 Score when either one was abnormal showed the highest diagnostic performance between the HCC group and the cirrhosis and control groups with sensitivity and specificity of (93% and 96%), respectively, whereas the APRI Score was the best to differentiate between the cirrhosis and control groups with sensitivity and specificity of 100% each. Conclusions Using some simple non-costly indices can accurately predict HCC and differentiate it from cirrhosis and normal control cases among Egyptian patients, it can also differentiate cirrhosis from normal controls, so can be used as diagnostic and screening tools for both HCC and liver cirrhosis among the Egyptian population.