— Christine M. Kukka, Project Manager, HBV Advocate
Measuring liver stiffness, the size of the spleen and platelets in
the bloodstream (which indicate how well the blood clots) together can
reveal a patient's risk of liver cancer, according to a recent report
published in the June issue of the journal Liver International.
It remains challenging to accurately diagnose the
presence of liver cancer and tumors. Alpha fetoprotein (AFP) levels in
the bloodstream may indicate the presence of tumors, but it can be
unreliable. Liver biopsies that assess fibrosis are invasive, costly
and may miss liver damage if not performed in the right location of the
liver.
Korean researchers tried to see if the three
diagnostic tools—measuring liver stiffness and the size of the spleen
through an ultra sound or transient elastography, and performing a
simple blood test to assess platelet count—could accurately predict the
presence of liver cancer.
Between 2006 and 2010, they assessed 227 patients
infected with HBV who underwent liver biopsies and also had liver
stiffness measured to see what common factors there were in those who
developed liver cancer.
The average age was 45 and 68.7% were male.
During the 61-month average follow-up period, 18 patients developed
liver cancer. Cancer patients had higher liver stiffness readings, a
longer spleen measurement and lower platelet counts (less than 0.05)
than cancer-free patients, even when older age and fibrosis history were
taken into consideration.
They reported that the more abnormal the liver
stiffness/spleen measurements and platelet counts were, the higher the
risk of cancer. This diagnostic tool, they noted, is useful for
assessing liver cancer risk in individual patients.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24930484
Labels: fibroscan, HCC risk, measuring liver stiffness, predicting cancer risk
