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J Collazos

Publications and source records attributed to J Collazos.

115 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

CA 15.3 in nonmalignant liver diseases.

CA 15.3 is a recent tumor marker for a wide range of cancers that is usually used for monitoring breast carcinoma patients. This study was performed to evaluate CA 15.3 behaviour in 161 patients with benign diffuse hepatic diseases who underwent thorough clinical and biochemical evaluation. Abnormal serum levels of this antigen were found in 8.7% of the 161 patients, 11.6% of the 86 cirrhotics, and 5.3% of the 75 noncirrhotic patients. The correlation between CA 15.3 and certain parameters characteristic of liver diseases was checked. IgA showed the most relevant correlation (r = 0.39, p less than 0.00001) and in our series a normal level of IgA was practically determinant of normal CA 15.3 levels. Our results also support the role played by hepatocellular dysfunction in increasing levels of this antigen in spite of the low number of false-positive results. CA 15.3 can be used as a tumor marker in these patients at levels used for healthy subjects.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Preliminary study of alpha-fetoprotein in nonmalignant liver diseases. A clinico-biochemical evaluation.

This preliminary study was carried out to evaluate the behavior of AFP in 155 patients with benign diffuse liver diseases who underwent thorough clinical and laboratory evaluation. We found correlations between AFP and some clinical and biochemical parameters characteristic of liver diseases; serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (GOT) proved the most relevant (r = 0.27 p = 0.0004) and most reliable marker to predict AFP levels. 22.6% of the patients as a whole, 25.6% of the 86 cirrhotics and 18.8% of the 69 non-cirrhotics, had increased levels of AFP. Patients with active liver disease as measured by increased GOT, had higher AFP levels than patients with quiescent liver diseases (p = 0.0048), suggesting that cytolysis and/or regeneration plays a role in the increase in AFP. Elevation of the cut-off level was necessary to improve the specificity of AFP as a tumor marker. In our series, the cut-off of 9 ng/ml was exceeded by only 10% of the patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of the behavior of carcinoembryonic antigen in cirrhotic patients.

Benign liver diseases are a cause of increased serum levels of CEA. We studied the behavior of CEA in 86 patients with liver cirrhosis who underwent extensive clinical and laboratory evaluation. We found abnormal CEA levels in 38.4% of the patients (28.6% Child's grade A, 40.6% Child's B, and 42.4% Child's C) with a mean of 4.75 ng/ml. Significant differences were found between patients and controls. There was a trend towards higher levels of CEA in more severe cirrhosis according to Child's classification, although this was not significant. We found significant correlations between CEA and some liver tests, including glycocholic acid (r = 0.264., p = 0.012), a marker of severity in liver diseases. The increase of CEA in these patients is probably due to alterations in its metabolic processing caused by hepatocellular dysfunction. Moderate elevations of serum CEA can be expected in cirrhotic patients independently of malignancy.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical and laboratory evaluation of CA 19-9 in cirrhotic patients.

OBJECTIVES: CA 19-9 is a tumour marker mainly used in the evaluation of digestive system cancers. However, abnormal values can also be found in benign hepatobiliary diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the behaviour of CA 19-9 in cirrhotic patients to try to find the factors associated with increased antigen levels which could have pathogenetic implications. METHODS: Eighty-five cirrhotic patients underwent a thorough clinical and laboratory evaluation. CA 19-9 levels and a wide range of liver tests were recorded in each case and evaluated with non-parametric statistical analysis. RESULTS: Forty patients (47.1%) had increased levels of CA 19-9 without significant differences between the Child's classes. Several laboratory parameters, especially transaminases, showed a significant correlation with CA 19-9. Patients with increased serum aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT) had higher CA 19-9 levels than those with normal ASAT (p < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis showed that the only independent factors significantly associated to CA 19-9 were ASAT and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALAT). CONCLUSIONS: Cirrhotic liver disease must be excluded when an abnormal CA 19-9 serum level is found in a cancer patient before attributing it to the malignancy. Although several mechanisms can be involved, cytolysis and/or regeneration seems to play a role in the increase of CA 19-9 in these patients.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) in chronic active hepatitis and mild liver diseases.

Tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) is a non-specific tumor marker with a broad reactivity. Increases in TPA are also observed in benign liver diseases. We conducted this study to evaluate the usefulness of TPA serum level determination in 15 patients with chronic active hepatitis (CAH) and in 30 patients with mild liver diseases (MLD) diagnosed at the time of evaluation. TPA levels were abnormal in 73.3% of CAH patients and in 40% of MLD patients. CAH patients had significantly higher TPA levels than MLD patients (p = 0.006). There was a significant correlation between TPA and ASAT (r = 0.581 p < 0.00001), suggesting that cytolysis plays an important role in the increase in TPA. A TPA value of twice the normal level will unlikely be due to MLD (specificity 90%). TPA can be used in the clinical characterization of these patients and in the selection of patients for biopsy.

Adolescent↗