Enzyme levels accurate predictor.

• Position: Liver Cancer - Brief article

Enzyme levels in the blood routinely monitored by physicians as liver function indicators are the best predictor of liver cancer risk in the general population, reports a team of scientists from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.

"These two enzymes alone--ALT and AST--predicted 91% of liver cancer cases in our prospective study," points out senior author Xifeng Wu, professor and chair of the Department of Epidemiology. "If our research is confirmed in other studies, we'd have a measure for liver cancer risk that's easy to apply via a simple blood test that's already in widespread clinical use."

While hepatitis B and C virus infection are predictors among people considered at high risk of developing liver cancer, the enzyme levels outperformed both HBV and HCV infection as risk predictors in the general population. Between...