Search

Primary cancer of the liver, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is an extremely deadly cancer, with very poor 5 year survivals, following diagnosis. The poor outcomes are believed to be due, in part, to the late times in which the cancers are usually first detected. Improved methods for early detection have thus become a top priority in the management of liver cancer. This Chapter reviews current methods of detection as well as leading new methods. Possible explanations as to why there are so many markers that are being discovered, but so few that make it to validation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examined the level of Golgi protein 73 (GP73) in the serum of 9 patients as a function of anti-liver cancer treatment. Although the numbers are small, a clear trend was observed. Patients who remained tumor free (up to 6 years post-treatment) showed reductions in GP73 at the first time point available post-treatment. In contrast, patients who had high levels GP73 post treatment all had re-occurrence within a 5 year period. These data are preliminary but dramatically imply that this marker may have value in the monitoring of HCC patients and may be elevated even when small, undetectable tumors are present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We previously demonstrated that human urine contains small, 150 to 250 nucleotide-sized, soluble DNA derived from the circulation, which may be useful in the detection of colorectal cancer. In this report we have determined the stability of DNA in urine and have found that the half-life time interval of this small, fragmented DNA is at least 4 hours post collection. We further compared, in a blinded study, the frequency of detecting mutated K-ras sequence in DNA isolated from plasma and urine derived from individuals who have either a colorectal carcinoma (CRC), or adenomatous polyps that contain a mutation in codon 12 of the K-ras proto-oncogene. There was an 83% concurrence of mutated DNA detected in urine and its corresponding disease tissue from the same individuals, when paired urine and tissue sections from 20 patients with either CRC or adenomatous polyps were analyzed for K-ras mutation. However, only a 56% concurrence was observed when the matched plasma specimens were tested from these 20 patients. These results suggest that urine might be a better resource for detecting K-ras mutation in circulating DNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]