Significance of PIVKA-II in sorafenib therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

We investigated changes in tumor markers before and after sorafenib therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Subjects were 28 patients who began sorafenib therapy. HCC stage was III (n = 5), IVA (n = 10) and IVB (n = 13). AFP, AFP-L3 and PIVKA-II were compared before and at one month after sorafenib administration. While no significant changes were observed for AFP and AFP-L3, PIVKA-II increased significantly following treatment (p<0.001). Similar results were observed for investigation of outcomes based on RECIST criteria (PR, n = 1; SD, n = 18; PD, n = 9), with increases also observed for PR or SD patients. PIVKA-II increased following sorafenib administration regardless of therapeutic effects based on imaging findings. The present results are very interesting from the perspective of the clinical effects of sorafenib.