Association between high serum alanine aminotransferase levels and more rapid development and higher rate of incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with hepatitis C virus-associated cirrhosis

✍ Scribed by Kazuo Tarao; Yasushi Rino; Shinichi Ohkawa; Akio Shimizu; Setsuo Tamai; Kaoru Miyakawa; Hiroharu Aoki; Toshio Imada; Kunihiko Shindo; Naoyuki Okamoto; Shinichi Totsuka

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 151 KB
• Volume: 86
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19990815)86:4<589::aid-cncr7>3.0.co;2-k

✦ Synopsis

Many studies have demonstrated in animal experiments that persistent inflammation may accelerate the development of carcinoma. In this article, the question of whether the persistent elevation of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels (which represents the inflammatory necrosis of hepatocytes) correlates with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was studied in patients with early stage hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated cirrhosis.

METHODS.

Sixty-nine consecutive patients with biopsy proven HCV-associated cirrhosis (mostly Child's Stage A) who had been followed for Ͼ5 years for the development of HCC were studied. They were subdivided into 3 groups according to their serum ALT levels: Group A was comprised of 28 patients whose annual average serum ALT level was persistently high (Ն 80 IU) (high ALT group), Group B was comprised of 28 patients whose annual average serum ALT level was persistently low (Ͻ 80 IU) (low ALT group), and Group C was comprised of 13 unclassified patients. The patients had been studied prospectively with frequent ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography for Ͼ 5 years.