[Evaluation of a risk of a cross-reactivity with Echinococcus multilocularis-specific Em2plus antigen in patients
Małgorzata Paul1, Jerzy Stefaniak, Witold Rychlicki
1Katedra i Klinika Chorób Tropikalnych i Pasozytniczych, Akademia Medyczna, Poznań.
Abstract:
The incidence of non-specific reactions with E. multilocularis antigen in patients with liver malignancies, and the risk of a supradiagnosis of alveolar echinococcosis (AE) in space-occupying lesions in the liver due to neoplastic proliferative diseases were studied. Analysis of specific IgG serum antibody against Em2plus antigenic complex was performed in 11 AE patients in comparison to 76 individuals with malignant neoplasms of abdominal or extra-hepatic location, including some patients with primary hepatocellular cancer or distant metastases to liver, and 42 patients with benign hepatic lesions. Only one false borderline result was reported in a case with colorectal cancer, and dissemination to liver. Low risk of false positive results with E. multilocularis-specific Em2plus antigen in patients with liver malignancies makes the test valuable for practical reasons in a differential diagnosis of irregular tumor masses visualized by imaging techniques.
