(The Philippine Star) | Updated January 6, 2013 - 12:00am
A combination of ultrasound and alpha-fetoprotein testing identified almost all hepatocellular carcinomas in patients with cirrhosis that was primarily associated with chronic hepatitis C, a retrospective study has shown.
At an alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) cutoff level of greater than 20 ng/mL, the combination has 100% specificity and 87% sensitivity, making it an accurate and cost-effective screening method for these patients.
Because patients with cirrhosis are at significantly increased risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease recommends that they have liver cancer screening every 6 to 12 months. The CT and MRI are the gold standard in identifying HCC, they are too expensive to employ as a first-line method at the recommended frequency.
The medical records of 140 patients with cirrhosis who were screened for HCC with an initial ultrasound liver scan and AFP test, and then had a follow-up CT or MRI within six months were examined.
Read more......
At an alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) cutoff level of greater than 20 ng/mL, the combination has 100% specificity and 87% sensitivity, making it an accurate and cost-effective screening method for these patients.
Because patients with cirrhosis are at significantly increased risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease recommends that they have liver cancer screening every 6 to 12 months. The CT and MRI are the gold standard in identifying HCC, they are too expensive to employ as a first-line method at the recommended frequency.
The medical records of 140 patients with cirrhosis who were screened for HCC with an initial ultrasound liver scan and AFP test, and then had a follow-up CT or MRI within six months were examined.
Read more......
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