Diagnostic Value of Tissue Polypeptide Specific Antigen in Chronic Liver Disease

Jun, Kyung Hong; Sim, Sung Chun; Choi, Kwun; You, Jong Hyun; Kim, Kyung Soo; Choi, Yoon S; Park, Chang Young; Kim, Byung Ik; Lee, Seung Se; Lee, Man Ho; Chung, Eul Soon; Lee, Sang Jong

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Tissue polypeptide specific antigen (TPS) is the specific epitope M3 of tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA). TPS was isolated from various types of human cancers and it has been used as a prognostic parameter in neoplastic disease of several organs.
METHODS
Our study involving I01 cases with TPS in chronic liver disease spanning from Januan, 1993 to December, 1994 revealed the following results.
RESULTS
The value of TPS is significantly increased in the chronic liver disease group than that in the control group (p<0.0001), and it I: especially increased in the hepatocellular carcinoma group than in chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis (p<0.01). There has been a significant correlation between TPS and aminotransferase, especially in liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. But there is no correlation between TPS and alpha-fetoprotein. The value of TPS in patients with positive hepatitis B antigen and HCV Ab is not significantly higher than in patients with negative hepatitis B antigen and HCV Ab.
CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that chronic liver disease may be involved in increasing TPS value. But there was no correlation between serum TPA and alpha-fetoprotein concentrations in indlividual patients. We conclude that alpha-fetoprotein is more useful than TPS in detecing hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with liver cirrhosis. But TPS level were higher in chronic liver disease, so further studies on TPS will be needed for useful marker of chronic liver disease, especially hepatocellular carcinorna.