Six autoantibodies as potential serum biomarkers of hepatocellular carcinoma: a prospective multicenter study.

Serum autoantibodies have been reported to react with tumor-associated antigen (TAA) in various cancers. This multicenter study evaluated the diagnostic and prognostic value of six autoantibodies against a panel of six hepatocellular carcinoma-associated antigens, including Sui1, p62, RalA, p53, NY-ESO-1, and c-myc. A total of 160 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and 74 healthy controls were prospectively enrolled from six institutions. Serum antibody titers were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The sensitivities were 19% for Sui1, 18% for p62, 17% for RalA, 11% for p53, 10% for NY-ESO-1, and 9% for c-myc. Overall sensitivity of the TAA panel (56%) was higher than that of α-fetoprotein (41%, P < 0.05). The combined sensitivity of the TAA panel and α-fetoprotein was significantly higher than that of α-fetoprotein alone (P < 0.001). The difference in overall survival of TAA panel-positive and panel-negative patients was significant when the stage I/II patients were combined (P = 0.023). Overall survival was worse in NY-ESO-1 antibody-positive than in NY-ESO-1 antibody-negative patients (P = 0.002). Multivariate analysis found that positivity for the TAA panel was independently associated with poor prognosis (P = 0.030). This TAA panel may have diagnostic and prognostic value in the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.