Serum alpha-L-fucosidase as a marker of hepatocellular carcinoma

selectively retainthe Lipicdcl CC cp scan10 days after injection. FW p%tientswith primarylivercancersunrivemere t+an 6 months frcm diagmsis: one of Cur patientsremainsalivea-d well af+ 14 months with Ix1me+ of the tur.our Cn serialCT szans. Elevenctherpatientswlthprimay hmoJrshaVe suvlved lto10 months thus far; the three patients with cclcrectalsecondariesare well at 3, 7 and llmonths ion af their diseaseand two respectively.Sixpati~tsbavedigl, fourthrmqh progress Freliminaryresultshaveti-Iusb%?nencouragingand cirrhoticpatientsfcllc"ii?gsurgery. "exe ncwenqgedinalaqerplPspediVerandom~sedstudy.

SEEUN AmiA-L-FuaExcPs EASAMAFXEROFHEPA~QUECPKlMA W.L.Hutchinson F.J.Johnson C. Clarke R. Williams, Liver Unit, King's se&; Hcsplta~andS'ofEiii& l%'?cistry, Denmark Hill,London,

The metabolism of L-fucose is impaired in hepatocellular carcinoma (HE) tissue and recentCbsav&iaxs SuggestthatthismaybepaNy sqlained by altersdtissuelevelsof -I.&Xccsidase(nrr). SerumAIF(man~SEM) medSUWlin 35p3.tientswithHcC henyme was 225 + 23 nkatals/l,while in 20 nCrIWla.nd35 cirrhoticsubjects it was 93 + 10 and 134 t 12 titalql respectively (pco.001 arxlFO.05). Sustainedelevationswere detectg! at between 24 and 66 months pricrto the diagnosisof HCC in 4 cirrhoticpatients who eventuallydevelo ed WC. This contrastswith serum AFP which, in the same patie+, displayedstadyrsesabaethencrmalrange B forbetween and 22 months. F~urcirrhct~c patients"ho did not devel HEhad flxtuatirglevelsofAW within or below thenormal rarqe~ercCmpWaeper~ ,p. The efficacyof HCCtreatmentb chemotherapyor orthotcpiclivertransplantation "as reflectedinthe saxin Irfuaxa .I se activity, The enzyme activity"as laqely unchanged followinghffective txe?&mat with dcxctixin (1 patient)or mitcxantmne (2 patients) hut fellduritq1-3.5mcnth~ fcllcwirgWa@antation (3 tients)by between 18 and 528 tcwithtilthencrmalranp. Tumcu?zrecyrrenceinCne0ft.Ese"as accompanied by a return cfxFtcsupranormallwels. tc charxzterise patientswith HCC and may presentone of the ~~~$%a~ in pat+nts de&in&to d~~~~.disease. Varyinglevels may assistinm~nitcr~theeffect~venesscf anticancer P2