Histological study of PIVKA-II expression in hepatocellular carcinoma and adenomatous hyperplasia

• Published in: Pathology international Vol. 51; no. 12; pp. 916 - 922
• Main Authors: Miskad, Upik Anderiani, Yano, Yoshihiko, Nakaji, Miyuki, Kishi, Shinji, Itoh, Hiroshi, Kim, Soo Ryang, Ku, Yonson, Kuroda, Yoshikazu, Hayashi, Yoshitake
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melbourne, Australia Blackwell Science Asia Pty. Ltd 01-12-2001
• Subjects: Adenoma - metabolism; Adenoma - pathology; adenomatous hyperplasia; Adult; Aged; Biomarkers; Biomarkers, Tumor - biosynthesis; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - metabolism; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - pathology; Female; hepatocellular carcinoma; histology; Humans; Hyperplasia; Immunoenzyme Techniques; immunostain; Liver Neoplasms - metabolism; Liver Neoplasms - pathology; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Staging; PIVKA-II; Precancerous Conditions - metabolism; Precancerous Conditions - pathology; Protein Precursors - biosynthesis; Prothrombin - biosynthesis; tumor marker
• ISSN: 1320-5463; 1440-1827
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1440-1827.2001.01296.x

Although serum concentration of protein induced vitamin K absence or antagonist II (PIVKA‐II) has been widely used for diagnosing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), little information is available concerning tissue PIVKA‐II as an immunohistochemical marker for liver histology. In this study, we examined the expression of PIVKA‐II in precancerous nodules (adenomatous hyperplasia) and various differentiation grades of HCC by immunohistochemical study using the monoclonal anti‐PIVKA‐II antibody (MU‐3). We examined the relationship between tissue PIVKA‐II staining and serum PIVKA‐II level, tumor histology and tumor size. PIVKA‐II was mainly detected in the cytoplasm of the HCC cells. The positive rates of PIVKA‐II were as follows: adenomatous hyperplasia (AH), 0% (0/9); well‐differentiated HCC, 65% (15/23); moderately differentiated HCC, 85% (22/26); poorly differentiated HCC, 54% (7/13). The expression of tissue PIVKA‐II staining in moderately differentiated HCC was significantly higher than in well‐ or poorly differentiated HCC, whereas the serum PIVKA‐II level in poorly differentiated HCC was higher than well‐ or moderately differentiated HCC. There was no relationship between the expression of PIVKA‐II in cancer tissues and serum levels of PIVKA‐II. Immunohistochemical studies revealed that PIVKA‐II was expressed even in small‐sized or well‐differentiated HCC cells, but expression was not detected in AH. It was concluded that PIVKA‐II is a useful immunohistochemical marker, even in small‐sized or well‐differentiated HCC.