Abstract
Deregulation of insulinโlike growth factorโ1 (IGFโ1) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several malignancies. This study aimed to investigate the association of changes in circulating IGFโ1 with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The radioimmunoassay was used to analyze serum IGFโ1 levels of 65 HCC patients and 165 healthy subjects. Serum IGFโ1 levels were significantly decreased in the HCC patients as compared with the healthy subjects (158.46ยฑ105.07 vs. 247.63ยฑ149.96โng/mL, P<0.001). Furthermore, insulin resistance was significantly higher in the HCC patients than the healthy subjects (P=0.027). In addition, the significant correlations of serum IGFโ1 levels with age and insulin resistance in the healthy subjects were not noted in the HCC patients. Intriguingly, individuals with hepatitis C virus (HCV), not hepatitis B virus, had remarkably decreased IGFโ1 levels in both groups of the HCC patients and healthy subjects. Moreover, in the HCV subgroup, serum IGFโ1 levels were significantly reduced in the HCC patients than the healthy subjects (113.14ยฑ71.28 vs. 172.42ยฑ74.02โng/mL, P=0.003). In conclusion, decreased serum IGFโ1 levels were associated with HCC and the decrease was remarkably noted in those patients concomitant with chronic hepatitis C. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 24:195โ200, 2010. ยฉ 2009 WileyโLiss, Inc.