PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - IVAN GENTILE
AU  - ANTONIO RICCARDO BUONOMO
AU  - RICCARDO SCOTTO
AU  - EMANUELA ZAPPULO
AU  - CANIO CARRIERO
AU  - MAURO PICCIRILLO
AU  - FRANCESCO IZZO
AU  - MARIANNA RIZZO
AU  - DIONIGIO CERASUOLO
AU  - GUGLIELMO BORGIA
AU  - ERNESTA CAVALCANTI
TI  - Diagnostic Accuracy of PIVKA-II, Alpha-Fetoprotein and a Combination of both in Diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients Affected by Chronic HCV Infection
DP  - 2017 Jul 01
TA  - In Vivo
PG  - 695--700
VI  - 31
IP  - 4
4099  - http://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/31/4/695.short
4100  - http://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/31/4/695.full
SO  - In Vivo2017 Jul 01; 31
AB  - Background/Aim: Patients affected by liver cirrhosis are at high risk for developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of PIVKA-II (protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II) alone or in combination with α-1 fetoprotein (AFP), as a screening marker for development of HCC. Materials and Methods: A case-control study was conducted in 2 hospital wards in Naples. All anti-HCV-positive patients affected by HCC were considered as cases, while consecutive anti-HCV-positive patients without HCC were considered as controls. Results: Overall, 160 patients were enrolled, 56 cases and 104 controls. At the set cut-off of 36 mAU/ml, PIVKA-II was more sensitive (78.6% vs. 60%), but less specific than AFP at the set cut-off of 12 ng/ml (66.3% vs. 77.2%). The negative predictive value of PIVKA in combination with AFP was 93.2%. Conclusion: PIVKA II, when combined with AFP, may be considered as a screening test for HCC due to its high negative predictive value.