ABSTRACT
Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma is a major health problem. It was ranked 2nd most common cancer site among males and 7th among females. AFP is the main routinely parameter for HCC diagnosis, it can also be elevated in liver cirrhosis. It represents a liver cell- specific, not a tumor-specific marker, for these reasons, our suggestion is to use AFP as a supplementary marker for diagnosis of HCC. So identification of sensitive biomarkers to improve early diagnosis of HCC is needed. Our aim is to evaluate serum Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) as biomarkers for early diagnosis of HCC.

Methods: The study included 40 HCCs patients (stage I (9) cases, stage II (31) cases), 30 liver cirrhosis patients, and 20 healthy subjects were enrolled. Serum DKK1 using ELISA kit was measured in all included subjects.

Results: Serum DKK1 was significantly elevated in HCC group compared to cirrhotic and healthy control groups. Receiver operating characteristic curve showed the best cutoff values for DKK1, and AFP were (1 ng/ml and 400 ng/ml) respectively. Area under the curve of DKK1 was significantly larger than that of AFP (0.990 vs. 0.763). The sensitivity of DKK1 and AFP was (98% vs. 28%) respectively.
Conclusion: Serum DKK1 might be potential diagnostic markers for HCC.
KEY WORDS: HCC patients, DKK1, AFP.