Combined measurement of preoperative α-fetoprotein and des-γ-carboxy prothrombin predicts recurrence after curative resection in patients with hepatitis-B-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and des-γ-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) are widely used complementary tumor markers for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we investigated whether preoperative AFP and DCP levels predict recurrence after curative resection in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC. Records for 267 patients who were diagnosed with HBV-related HCC and who underwent curative resection for HCC were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into two preoperative groups: pre-op I (AFP ≥ 20 ng/dL and DCP ≥ 40 mAU/mL) and pre-op II (AFP ≥ 20 ng/dL and DCP