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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015.
World J Hepatol. Dec 18, 2015; 7(29): 2913-2919
Published online Dec 18, 2015. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i29.2913
Table 1 Sensitivity and specificity (%) of various biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis
BiomarkerSensitivitySpecificity
SCCA-IgM[57]52-8950-82
AFP[58]41-6580-94
Osteopontin[58]8782
DCP[58]23-8995
AFP-L3[58]37-6090-92
Table 2 Overview of the main observations on squamous cell carcinoma antigen-immunoglobulins M behaviour in clinical settings
Ref.Main observation
SCCA-IgM in monitoring chronic liver disease
Biasiolo et al[44]Significant increase of SCCA-IgM levels over time in 75% of untreated patients with chronic hepatitis and with histologically proven liver disease progression (fibrosis score increase ≥ 2) after six years of follow-up
Martini et al[46]In patients with chronic hepatitis C, SCCA-IgM was found an independent predictor of histologically proven non alcoholic steatohepatitis
SCCA-IgM and antiviral treatment
Giannini et al[48]In chronic hepatitis C treatment with standard therapy, only patients who achieved sustained viral response showed a significant decrease in median values of SCCA-IgM up to one year of follow-up
Fransvea et al[49]Reduction of SCCA-IgM levels during the first month of standard antiviral therapy was an independent predictor of sustained viral response
Martini et al[46]Significant reduction of SCCA-IgM, lasting up to 6 mo of follow-up, was observed only in HCV-positive patients with sustained response to standard therapy
SCCA-IgM in diagnosis and prognosis of HCC
Pontisso et al[51]Significant increase over time of SCCA-IgM only in patients with early cirrhosis (histologically proven) who developed HCC within four years of follow up
Buccione et al[52]In HCV-positive patients with overt cirrhosis, SCCA-IgM negativity (cut off ≤ 200 AU/mL) accurately identified patients at low risk of liver cancer development in the subsequent year
Beneduce et al[24]SCCA-IgM showed higher sensitivity for the diagnosis of HCC, compared to AFP
Pozzan et al[53]In patients with HCC, SCCA-IgM levels were found an independent predictor of survival. A reduction in SCCA-IgM levels was correlated with response to HCC treatment