Background: Alpha Fetoprotein (AFP) is now the most frequently applied tumour biomarker for the early diagnosis and clinical follow-up of HCC patients. Dickkopf 1 (DKK 1) is a protein that has a role in embryonic head morphogenesis. Several investigations revealed that DKK 1 regulates a variety of pathological and physiological processes. The aim of this work was to evaluate the diagnostic role of serum DKK 1 level and AFP- L3 as tumor markers in hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: This observational research enrolled 60 participants aged above 18 years, group 1 include 10 healthy control participants, group 2 involved 25 cirrhotic cases and group 3 involved 25 cases diagnosed with HCC. All cases underwent taking of full history, clinical assessment, radiology, laboratory examination and specific investigations such as the tested two markers AFP-L3 and DKK1. Results: AFP-L3 had 84% sensitivity and 67.7% specificity, while DKK1 had sensitivity and specificity of 76% and 80% respectively to differentiate between cirrhotic and HCC cases, using a cut-off value of 8.62 ng/ml. two markers combination had specificity and sensitivity of 92%, 72% respectively and increase the accuracy for detection of HCC up to 82%. Conclusions: Both AFP-L3 and DKK1 could act as surrogate biomarkers for HCC and combination of two markers should be kept in mind to reach the optimum accuracy.
Background: Axial spondyloarthritis is a chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease that has a great risk for metabolic syndrome. Our aim was to study metabolic syndrome (MetS) in radiographic and non- radiographic axial spondyloarthritis patients in Egyptian population. Methods: The cross-sectional study included 60 consecutive Ax-SpA patients aged 25-55 years fulfilling the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society criteria; they were divided into 40 patients with radiographic and 20 patients with non- radiographic axial spodyloarthritis. MetS was assessed using new international diabetes federation definition. Results: The prevalence of MetS was higher in radiographic patients (37.50%) than non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (20%) (X2 = 0.170, P = 0.242) with significant differences between the two groups as regard triglycerides (p = 0.012*) and HDL cholesterol (p < 0.001*). Decreased HDL-cholesterol was the most frequent metabolic syndrome component with a prevalence of 66.66% (40 patients) in both groups. Conclusion: Metabolic syndrome was more prevalent in radiographic axial spodyloarthritis. Therefore, follow up of these patients is important for early detection of any cardiovascular events.
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