Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur
  • 2 Ministry of Health, Putra Jaya, Selangor
  • 3 Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah, Klang, Selangor
  • 4 Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Alor Setar, Kedah
  • 5 School of Allied Health, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, 16150 Kelantan, Malaysia
  • 6 Department of Pathology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, 16150 Kelantan, Malaysia
Med J Malaysia, 2009 Sep;64(3):223-7.
PMID: 20527273 MyJurnal

Abstract

Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-beta-1) is a multifunctional cytokine involved in the regulation of growth and differentiation of both normal and transformed cells. The main aim of this study was to determine whether TGF-beta-1 or alpha fetoprotein (AFP) or the combination of the two is a better indicator for hepatocellularcarcinoma (HCC). Serum TGF-beta-1 and AFP were measured by ELISA in 40 healthy subjects, 23 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 70 patients with hepatitis B, 26 patients with hepatitis C and 16 patients with liver cirrhosis (LC). Patients with liver diseases showed significantly higher serum TGF-beta-1 values (> 3 fold) compared to control subjects. As for serum AFP, significant elevation was only observed for HCC cases. Serum TGF-beta-1 exhibited higher percent sensitivity compared to serum AFP in all liver diseases. Combination of serum TGF-beta-1 and AFP increased specificities in all cases studied. In conclusion, serum TGF-beta-1 is a more sensitive marker for HCC when compared to serum AFP and its specificity is increased when combined with serum AFP.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.