Background and study aim: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is  the commonest primary liver cancer originating from the hepatocytes. HCC nowadays considered the 3^rd cause of malignancy related mortality allover the world. Small HCC, means that size of hepatic focal lesions did not exceed 5 centimeters in patients with solitary hepatoma, typically have no clinical manifestations. This makes cirrhotic liver patients a perfect target population for HCC surveillance.This study was designed to evaluate the clinical use of serum GP73 levels as a good diagnostic biomarkers for malignant liver tumours in cirrhotic patients due to HCV infection.
Subjects and Methods: The study was designed as a Descriptive - Analytic study at Suez Canal University Hospital. The study included 87 individuals who were divided into four groups (healthy, chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and HCC patients). All patients were clinically evaluated, had routine laboratory investigations and measurements of circulating levels of AFP and GP73. Abdominal ultrasonography and Triphasic CT abdomen was done for detection of hepatic focal lesions and hepatobiliary system.
Results: The maximum cutoff levels for GP73 was 534.5 ng/L and in comparison the cutoff AFP level was 32 ng/mL. For GP73, the sensitivity was 88% and specificity 88%  while the sensitivity of AFP was 72% and the specificity of AFP was 80%.   The +v predictive value of GP73 and the -ve predictive value of GP73 were 84.6% and 87.5%  while the same values of AFP were  75% and 73.1%, respectively.
Conclusion: It was found that serum GP73 was up-regulated in HCC and we can use it as a good biomarker for early detection and for screening of malignant liver lesions in cirrhotic patients due chronic HCV infection and it would be more accurate and effective tool than serum AFP in discriminating the malignant liver lesion from the chronic hepatitis.