Analyses of autoantibodies against tumor-associated antigens in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Autoantibodies against tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) such as insulin-like growth factor II mRNA-binding proteins (IMPs), p53, c-myc, and survivin were analyzed in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), using recombinant proteins of these antigens. Eight of 86 (9.3%) HCC patients had one or more of these autoantibodies. However, serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels ranged within normal limits in HCC patients with anti-TAAs except for one case with anti-IMP1. One of the HCC patients had autoantibodies against IMP1, IMP3 and p53 before the diagnosis of HCC. These findings may indicate that anti-TAAs seem to be supplementary serological markers for the diagnosis of HCC in AFP-negative cases and that autoantibodies against IMP1, IMP3 and p53 are candidates for predictive markers of HCC development.