Fucosylated fraction of alpha-fetoprotein as a serological marker of early hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM This study aimed to evaluate the fucosylated fraction of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP-L3) as a marker of early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS We diagnosed early HCC in 15 patients (15 tumors) by gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging and confirmed the diagnoses using new criteria of the International Consensus Group for Hepatocellular Neoplasia. We measured the AFP-L3%, simultaneously, using a liquid-phase binding assay-electrokinetic analyte transport assay. We compared the AFP-L3% levels between patients with early HCC and a control cohort with benign liver disease. RESULTS The AFP-L3% levels were higher in patients with early HCC than in the controls (4.1%±4.0% vs. 2.0%±3.5%, p=0.024). The sensitivity and specificity with AFP-L3% were 33.3% and 78.7% at a cut-off value of 5%, and 20.0% and 88.0% at a cut-off value of 7%, respectively. CONCLUSION AFP-L3% is a suitable serological marker for evaluating early HCC.