Sensitive Detection of Plasma Fibrinogen Chain A mRNA in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Using Semi-Nested RT-PCR

Area of Science:

• Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) diagnostics
• Biomarker discovery in oncology
• Molecular diagnostics for liver disease

Background:

• Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer mortality.
• Current biomarkers like alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) have diagnostic limitations.
• Need for improved diagnostic tools for early HCC detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate plasma Fibrinogen chain A mRNA (FGA mRNA) as a biomarker for HCC.
• To assess the diagnostic performance of FGA mRNA alone and in combination with AFP.
• To improve the accuracy of hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis.

Main Methods:

• Developed a semi-nested RT-PCR assay to quantify plasma FGA mRNA.
• Analyzed samples from 80 HCC patients and 74 controls (chronic liver disease and healthy donors).
• Utilized Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis and logistic regression for performance evaluation.

Main Results:

• Plasma FGA mRNA levels were significantly elevated in HCC patients compared to controls (p < 0.0001).
• Combined FGA mRNA and AFP significantly enhanced HCC diagnostic accuracy versus chronic liver disease (AUC = 0.859).
• The combined model identified 68.75% of HCC cases with low AFP levels (<20 ng/mL), outperforming AFP alone.

Conclusions:

• Plasma FGA mRNA offers moderate diagnostic utility for HCC.
• Combining FGA mRNA with AFP substantially improves diagnostic accuracy, especially in low-AFP HCC cases.
• This multi-biomarker approach shows potential for enhanced HCC detection, requiring further validation.