— Christine M. Kukka, Project Manager, HBV Advocate
When hepatitis B patients are treated with antivirals, a common
liver cancer test that measures alpha fetoprotein (AFP) levels in the
blood suddenly becomes much more accurate, according to a study
published in the April issue of the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
AFP screening is a relatively inexpensive and easy way to screen
for liver cancer, but it is notoriously inaccurate in people with
hepatitis B, with many results showing false positives for liver
cancer.
South Korean researchers performed AFP screening on 207 hepatitis B
patients before and after they were treated with antivirals to see if
detection of liver cancer improved during treatment.
Before treatment began, 22.2% of the patients had elevated AFP
levels (exceeding 20 ng/ml). After six months of treatment, only 5.5%
of patients had above-normal AFP levels, and after 12 months that
number declined to 1.3%.
"All patients who did not suffer from liver cancer exhibited normal
AFP levels at 12 months," researchers wrote. "The cumulative incidence
of liver cancer was 9.5% during 36 months of follow-up. If AFP levels
were over 20 ng/ml after 12 months of antiviral treatment, the
probability of liver cancer development approached certainty."
Bottom line: After 12 months of antiviral treatment, 100% of patients with elevated AFP levels (more than 12 ng/ml) had liver cancer.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24730702
HBV Journal Review
May 1, 2014, Vol 11, no 5
http://www.hbvadvocate.org/news/HBJ11.5.htmLabels: AFP, diagnostic tests, Liver cancer HCC
