Glypican-3 is useful but not superior to Hep Par 1 in differentiating hepatocellular carcinoma from other liver tumours.

To assess the diagnostic utility of glypican-3 (GPC-3) in comparison to Hep Par 1 in the diagnosis of liver tumours, a cross-sectional study involving 66 resected liver tumours were tested for the protein expression of these markers by immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibodies. Of the 66 cases, 26 (39.4%) were hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 4 (6.1%) were intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and 36 (54.5%) were metastatic tumours. Hep Par 1 and GPC-3 expressions in HCC were 24/26 (92.3%) and 19/26 (73.1%) respectively. In contrast, of non-HCC cases, only 2/40 cases (5.0%) expressed Hep Par 1, including a metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma and a metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma. GPC-3 was expressed in 3/40 cases (7.5%), i.e. a metastatic adenocarcinoma of unknown origin, a metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma and an intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. The sensitivity and specificity for Hep Par 1 were 92.3% and 95% respectively while that of GPC-3 was 73.1% and 92.5% respectively. GPC-3 is a useful marker in the diagnosis of HCC. However it is not superior to Hep Par 1 in its sensitivity and specificity. We recommend that it is utilized together with Hep Par 1 as a panel in the diagnosis of HCC.