Assessment of the Correlation between Serum Prolidase and Alpha-Fetoprotein Levels in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract

epatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common malignancies worldwide and the most common primary malignant tumor of the liver. It is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in the world. It occurs most commonly on top of a cirrhotic liver which in Egypt is prevalence is due to chronic HCV infection. When patients with obvious clinical symptoms come to the hospital for treatment, the HCC has already reached the advanced stages and is usually large in size. Given the subsequent rapid growth and vascular invasion, the prognosis then is very poor. Diagnosis of HCC at earlier stages, thus improves patient outcomes. Currently, the most commonly used methods for screening and diagnosing HCC are ultrasound imaging and serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) concentration measurements, but the diagnostic value of AFP is recently challenged due to its low sensitivity and specificity. Prolidase is an important enzyme that cleaves the bonds