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J Cancer 2016; 7(13):1798-1803. doi:10.7150/jca.15618 This issue Cite

Research Paper

Plasma Circulating Cell-free DNA Integrity as a Promising Biomarker for Diagnosis and Surveillance in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Ao Huang^1,#, Xin Zhang^1,#, Shao-Lai Zhou¹, Ya Cao², Xiao-Wu Huang¹, Jia Fan^1,3, Xin-Rong Yang^1✉, Jian Zhou^{1, 4✉}

1. Liver Surgery Department, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University
Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion (Fudan University), Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200032, China.
2. Cancer Research Institute, Central South University
Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion, Ministry of Education, Changsha, 410078, China.
3. Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
4. State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China.
# co-first authors

✉ Corresponding authors: Jian Zhou, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, No. 136 Yi Xue Yuan Road, Shanghai 200032, China. Tel: 86-21-64041990; Fax: 86-21-64037181. E-mail: zhou.jiansh.cn; or Xin-Rong Yang, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, No. 136 Yi Xue Yuan Road, Shanghai 200032, China. Tel: 86-21-64041990; Fax: 86-21-64037181. E-mail: yang.xinrongsh.cn. More

Abstract

The clinical significance of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) integrity as diagnostic and surveillance biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was investigated and compared to that of alpha fetoprotein (AFP). Liver cancer patients had lower cfDNA integrity than those with benign diseases (P = 0.0167) and healthy individuals (P = 0.0025). Patients with HCC and non-HCC liver cancers (P = 0.7356), and patients with benign diseases and healthy individuals (P = 0.9138) had comparable cfDNA integrity respectively. cfDNA integrity increased after hepatectomy in cancer patients (P = 0.0003). The AUCs for detecting HCC by cfDNA integrity and AFP were 0.705 (P = 0.005) and 0.605 (P = 0.156), respectively. We found cfDNA integrity decreased in HCC patients and has the potential as promising biomarker for HCC diagnosis and treatment surveillance.

Keywords: circulating cell-free DNA, cfDNA, integrity, hepatocellular carcinoma.

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