Individual And Combined Diagnostic Values Of The Serum Tumor Markers Alpha-Fetoprotein, Thymidine Kinase 1, And Mir-202 For Primary Hepatic Carcinoma

Objectives: To investigate the individual and combined diagnostic values of the serum tumor markers alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), thymidine kinase 1 (TK1), and micro RNA (miR)-202 for primary hepatic carcinoma.Methods: A total of 48 patients with primary liver cancer (PCL), who were treated in our hospital from July 2018 to July 2019, were recruited for the PLC group, and 52 patients with hepatitis were recruited for the hepatitis group. Thirty healthy individuals, who were examined at the examination center of our hospital, were selected as the control group. The levels of AFP, TK1, and miR-202 were detected and compared among groups. The diagnostic values for AFP, TK1, and miR-202 for PLC were analyzed by performing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.Results: Serum AFP and TK1 levels in patients with PLC were significantly higher than those in the hepatitis and the control groups (P<0.01). Serum AFP and TK1 levels for the hepatitis group were significantly higher than those for the control group (P<0.01). Serum miR-202 levels in the PLC group were significantly lower than those in the hepatitis and control groups (P<0.01), and serum miR-202 levels in the hepatitis group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.01). AFP levels were positively correlated with TK1 levels (r = 0.243, P = 0.024) and negatively correlated with miR-202 levels (r = -0.126, P = 0.016). TK1 levels were negatively correlated with miR-202 levels (r = -0.247, P = 0.018). The ROC curve analysis revealed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) for the ability of AFP to diagnose PLC was 0.906, with the best predictive value determined to be 264.81 ng/mL, which had a sensitivity of 89.16% and a specificity of 81.21%. The AUC for the diagnostic capability of TK1 for PLC was 0.899, with the best predictive value determined to be 4.58 pmol/L, which had a sensitivity of 81.40% and a specificity of 82.84%. The AUC for miR-202 to diagnose PLC was 0.838, with the best predictive value determined to be 0.41, which had a sensitivity of 85.18% and a specificity of 78.43%. The combination of AFP, TK1, and miR-202 diagnosed PLC with an AUC of 0.923, a sensitivity of 90.12%, and a specificity of 91.46%. The combination of AFP, TK1, and miR-202 had the highest diagnostic value for PLC.Conclusions: AFP, TK1, and miR-202 are expressed at abnormal levels in the serum of patients with PLC, and the individual or combined detection of these molecules can be valuable for the diagnosis of PLC, with the combination of AFP, TK1, and miR-202 presenting the highest diagnostic value for PLC.