Increased Serum Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor in Turkish Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients

Purpose: To evaluate the serum levels of G-CSF in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and to comparewith values in healthy individuals. Patients and
Methods: Thirty-three patients with hepatocellular carcinomaand 30 controls were included in the study. Histological confirmation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) wasperformed by core needle biopsy and patients with cirrhosis were classified according to the Child-Pugh score.The serum G-CSF levels of individuals in both groups were calculated as pg/ml and compared for Child-PughClass A, B and C patients with HCC.
Results: Median ages of patients with HCC and control group individualswere 58 (range:47-78) and 56 (range 45-70), respectively. Sex distributions were approximately equal. The meanserum level of G-CSF in patients with HCC was 199.4±112.2, as compared to 24.0±8.8 in the controls (p < 0.001).In addition, on subgroup analysis, the serum levels of G CSF were increased with Child-Pugh Class A, B and C,although without statistical significance (p=0.253).
Conclusion: Increased levels of G-CSF are observed in patientswith HCC. Further investigations are necessary to clarify the mechanism of G-CSF production and its effects onoutcomes.