Peptide hormones in liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Immunoreactive serum levels of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG), its alpha- and beta- subunits (alpha-HCG and beta-HCG), calcitonin (CT), parathyroid hormone (PTH), prolactin (PRL), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and growth hormone (GH) were increased in 8 to 68% of 44 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. With the exception of two patients, ACTH and PRL levels were only moderately increased, while alpha-HCG, GH, ACTH and PRL levels were not significantly different from the levels found in cirrhosis suggesting that metabolic effects due to impaired liver function may be responsible for their increase in liver cirrhosis and primary liver cell carcinoma. In contrast, HCG, beta-HCG, CT and PTH were associated with a higher incidence of elevated immunoreactive hormone levels than the other peptide hormones; higher concentrations were noted in tumor patients than with liver cirrhosis alone. Therefore, we suggest that metabolic effects due to cirrhosis may influence the serum levels and be more important than ectopic secretion by hepatocellular carcinoma.