Uno K, Suginoshita Y, Kakimi K, Moriyasu F, Hirosaki M, Shirakawa T, Kishida T. Impairment of IFN-α production capacity in patients with hepatitis C virus and the risk of the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. World J Gastroenterol 2005; 11(46): 7330-7334 [PMID: 16437637 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i46.7330]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Kazuko Uno, Louis Pasteur Center for Medical Research, 103-5, Tanaka-monzen-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606, Japan. kazukouno@louis-pasteur.or.jp
Article-Type of This Article
Rapid Communication
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Kazuko Uno, Tsunataro Kishida, Louis Pasteur Center for Medical Research, Kyoto, Japan
Yoshiki Suginoshita, Kazuhiro Kakimi, Fuminori Moriyasu, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Mayumi Hirosaki, Taro Shirakawa, Department of Health Promotion and Human Behavior, Kyoto University Graduate School of Public Health, Kyoto, Japan
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Supported by a grant-in-aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture of Japan (No.17606005 and 16201041), and a Research Grant for Allergic Disease and Immunology from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (H16-Immunology-002)
Correspondence to: Kazuko Uno, Louis Pasteur Center for Medical Research, 103-5, Tanaka-monzen-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606, Japan. kazukouno@louis-pasteur.or.jp
Telephone: +81-75-7917726 Fax: +81-75-7151071
Received: March 17, 2005 Revised: July 10, 2005 Accepted: July 15, 2005 Published online: December 14, 2005
Abstract
AIM: To determine the utility of interferon (IFN) -α production capacity in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection for the measurement of immuno-surveillance potential and for the early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by investigating the Sendai virus (HVJ) stimulated IFN-α production capacity of patients with HCV infection.
METHODS: HVJ stimulated IFN-α production was determined in a large number of patients with HCV infection and the development of HCC was monitored for 3 years in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC).
RESULTS: IFN-α production capacity decreases gradually with the progression of liver disease from chronic hepatitis (CH) to HCC. A significant correlation between the duration of HCV infection and impaired IFN-α production capacity was observed. IFN-α production in patients who developed HCC within 3 years was significantly lower than that of patients who remained in LC without developing HCC.
CONCLUSION: Measurement of IFN-α production in LC patients may be useful for the early detection of HCC.
