ABSTRACT
Infection of a hepatitis C virus (HCV) is confirmed by the presence of HCV antibody or HCV-RNA. Recently, a highly sensitive method to examine HCV-core antigen has been developed. In this study, to evaluate the clinical significance of HCV-core antigen determination, we examined serum HCV infection markers, HCV-core antigen, HCV-RNA (AMPLICOR) and HCV-antibody (third generation) concentrations. We determined 225 serum samples, and three patients receiving the treatment with interferon. In 102 HCV-RNA positive samples, significant correlation was observed between HCV-RNA and HCV-core antigen (r=0.734, p<0.0001). However, three out of 102 (2.9%) cases were included within the negative range of HCV-core antigen (20 fmol/l). The HCV-core antigen value in three patients receiving the treatment with interferon paralleled with the amount of HCV-RNA. The determination of HCV-core antigen by CLEIA is a useful and time-saving method, but an attention should be paid to the presence of false-negative cases.
Subject(s)
Hepatitis C/diagnosis , Immunoenzyme Techniques/methods , Luminescent Measurements , Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods , Viral Core Proteins/blood , Biomarkers/blood , False Negative Reactions , Hepacivirus/genetics , Hepacivirus/immunology , Hepatitis C/drug therapy , Hepatitis C/virology , Humans , Interferons/therapeutic use , RNA, Viral/bloodABSTRACT
The number of patients with prostatic cancer is recently increasing in Japan and it is well known that serum PSA determination is routinely used as a tumor marker of prostatic cancer. However, the reference values of PSA are widely varied, because the reactivities of the antibody to free PSA and ACT-PSA are different in each kit. Thus, there is no compatibility among values determined by available kits. In this study, we sent a questionnaire on PSA determination to 180 hospitals with more than 200 beds. The recovery rate to the questionnaire was 80.5% (145/180) and the determination was performed in house at 47 hospitals out of 145. Stamey in Stanford University recommended to set the ratio of complex PSA to free PSA 9:1 in the reference material. It is expected that PSA ad hoc committee in Japan reported that the inter-kit variability is becoming small. It can be said that the standardization for PSA determination is progressing. To discriminate prostatic cancer from benign prostatic hypertrophy, free PSA ratio or complex ACT-PSA is recommended. Further accumulation of data on PSA will be necessary to confirm this matter.
