SERUM LEVELS OF CIRCULATING INTERCELLULAR-ADHESION MOLECULE-1 IN HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA

Background/Aims: This is a comparative study of the relationship betwe en. Material and Methods: Serum levels of circulating intercellular ad hesion molecule-1 (cICAM-1) were measured by ELISA assay in four patie nts with chronic hepatitis (CH), 16 with liver cirrhosis (LC), 38 with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and in nine healthy controls. Results : No significant difference in cICAM-1 levels was observed between LC and HCC. The cICAM-1 level in HCC did not correlate with tumor markers but correlated well with tumor size. clCAM-1 level in HCC Stage III IV was significantly higher than. that of Stage I, and was higher in HCC with liver metastasis as opposed to HCC without metastasis. Furthe rmore, the clCAM-1 level of HCC decreased significantly after hepatect omy. Conclusion: These findings showed a close relationship between cl CAM-1 and the progress of intrahepatic metastasis of HCC, indicating a possibility for using cICAM-1 as a prognostic marker.