Serum levels of circulating intercellular adhesion molecule 1 in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background/Aims: This is a comparative study of the relationship between. Material and Methods: Serum Levels of circulating intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (cICAM-1) were measured by ELISA assay in four patients with chronic hepatitis (CH), 16 with liver cirrhosis (LC), 38 with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and in nine healthy controls. Results: No significant difference in cICAM-1 levels was observed between LC and HCC. The cICAM-1 level in HCC did not correlate with tumor markers but correlated well with tumor size. cICAM-1 level in HCC Stage III + IV was significantly higher than that of Stage I, and was higher in HCC with liver metastasis as opposed to HCC without metastasis. Furthermore, the cICAM-1 level of HCC decreased significantly after hepatectomy. Conclusion: These findings showed a close relationship between cICAM-1 and the progress of intrahepatic metastasis of HCC, indicating a possibility for using cICAM-1 as a prognostic marker.