Abstract:Objective
To investigate the changes of serum levels of TNF and AFP in patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma(PHC) before and after radiofrequency ablation(RFA) and their correlation with changes in the patients′ immunological function,so as to monitor the therapeutic effect of RFA in PHC
Methods The serum levels of TNF and AFP were measured in 20 healthy individuals(control group) and in 112 patients with PHC (treatment group) preRFA, postRFA. The results were compared and analysed for correlation with changes in the patients′ immunological function.
Results Mean serum level of TNF and AFP in treatment group preRFA was significantly higher than that of control group(P<0.01).At 7 days postRFA,the serum level of TNF showed no significant change（P>0.05）,but the level of AFP decreased significantly(P<0.01). At 14 days postRFA,the serum level of TNF decreased significantly(P<0.01),but it was still higher than that of control group(P<0.01), and the serum level of AFP compared with that of control group was not significanly different（P>0.05）.No relationship was found between changes in the levels of TNF and AFP(r=0.195,P>0.05). RFA showed a marked shortterm therapeutic effect for patients with PHC.〖WTHZ〗Conclusions After RFA treatment of patients with PHC,the serum levels of TNF and AFP decreased,and this suggests an augmentation of organism immune function. The serum levels of TNF and AFP can assist in the assessment of the therapeutic effect and prognosis of primary hepatic carcinoma.