DYSFIBRINOGENAEMIA AND PRIMARY HEPATO-CELLULAR CARCINOMA

  • 1 January 1976
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 45  (180) , 647-659
Abstract
The mechanisms of blood coagulation and fibrinolysis were evaluated in 28 black adult Africans with primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A characteristic pattern of abnormalities was defined. Dysfibrinogenemia appears to be a useful biological marker for the disease. The reptilase test (RT) is a simple, reliable and sensitive means of detection of this metabolic abnormality. The RT should be used to screen populations at high risk of developing HCC, such as cirrhotics, in conjunction with .alpha.-fetoprotein determinations, which, alone, are inadequate for the purpose. The hemostatic defect may have relevance to the pathogenesis of HCC, and further suggests a potentially useful, additional, therapeutic modality.