Diagnostic and prognostic role of serum glypican 3 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

α-Feto protein (AFP) is the widely used tumor marker in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic and prognostic validity of a novel marker, serum Glypican-3 (GPC3) and to compare AFP in patients with HCC. One hundred and twenty-eight patients (75 patients with HCC, 55 patients with cirrhosis, and 28 healthy controls) were included in this study. Cut-off value of GPC3 was 3.9 pg/ml. AFP was divided into four subgroups, according to cut-off values with 13, 20, 100, and 200 ng/ml. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of GPC3 and AFP13, AFP20, AFP100, AFP200 subgroups and also GPC3+AFP13, GPC3+AFP20 , GPC3+AFP100 , GPC3+AFP200 combinations were compared. Serum GPC3 levels were significantly higher in patients with HCC and cirrhosis compared with control subjects (P<0.05). The median serum GPC3 levels were 3.9 pg/ml in controls, 5.51 pg/ml in patients with cirrhosis, and 5.13 pg/ml in those with HCC. The median serum AFP levels were 1.37 ng/ml in controls, 2.32 ng/ml in cirrhotics, and 50.65 ng/ml in HCC patients. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of GPC3 was 61.33, 41.82, 58.97, and 44.43%, respectively. The values for AFP were 68.57, 94.55, 94.12, and 70.27%, respectively. There was no correlation between GPC3 levels and prognostic parameters. GPC3 is not a useful diagnostic and prognostic marker for HCC.