Background:
Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a common complication of endstage
hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
:
The aim of our study was to evaluate the role of Homocysteine (Hcy) in HCC patient with
PVT. Hcy is a sulphur amino-acid involved in two pathways, trans-sulphuration and
remethylation, that involve vitamins B6, B12 and folates.
Methods:
We recruited 54 patients with HCC and PVT, 60 patients with HCC and
without PVT and 60 control subjects. We measured serum levels of Hcy, folate, vitamins
B6 and B12.
Results:
The comparison between HCC patients with PVT versus HCC without PVT
was shown that mean values of Hcy were 6.4 nmol/L (p<0.0073) higher, LDL cholesterol
were 4.8 mg/dl (p<0.0079) lower, vitamin B6 were 4.6 nmol/L(p=0.0544) lower, vitamins
B 12 were 22.1 pg/ml (p=0.0001) lower.
Conclusion:
High serum levels of Hcy are an established thrombotic risk factor in the
general population. We found significantly higher levels of Hcy in HCC patients with PVT
versus both HCC patients without PVT and controls.
Hepatic Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Portal Vein Thrombosis: Impact of Early Response to 4 Weeks of Treatment
