Protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist II-producing gastric cancer

Protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist II: Experience to date and future directions

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer with high mortality. The realization of precision medicine in HCC relies upon efficient biomarkers. Protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist II (PIVKA-II) is an immature prothrombin with insufficient coagulation activity, overexpressing in HCC cells. Previous evidence confirmed the role of PIVKA-II in screening and diagnosing HCC. However, the increased PIVKA-II was observed not only in HCC, but also in non-HCC individuals such as vitamin K deficiency. The joint detection of PIVKA-II and other biomarkers could significantly improve diagnostic accuracy in HCC. Furthermore, PIVKA-II serves as a valuable prognostic predictor, transplantation eligibility, resectability, tumor recurrence, therapeutic efficacy, and malignant tumor behaviors. Additionally, PIVKA-II represents a potential target for agent development to establish new therapeutic strategies. Besides HCC, PIVKA-II also serves as a biomarker of vitamin K status. In this review, we assess the role of PIVKA-II in diagnosis, prediction, and treatment. Over the past decades, substantial progress has been achieved in the application of PIVKA-II. Exploration and innovation are required for further advances in the field of PIVKA-II investigation.

Protein Induced by Vitamin K Absence II: A Potential Biomarker to Differentiate Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma from Pancreatic Benign Lesions and Predict Vascular Invasion

BACKGROUND

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly malignant gastrointestinal tumor with a poor prognosis. Serum biomarker carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) was the only well-established biomarker for PDAC with inadequate efficacy. This present study aimed to determine the ability of PIVKA-II to discriminate PDAC from pancreatic benign lesions and predict vascular invasion preoperatively.

METHODS

Patients who underwent pancreatic surgery from 2017 to 2020 were enrolled. We examined the differential diagnostic ability of protein induced by vitamin K absence II (PIVKA-II), CA19-9, and their combination and 138 with PDAC evaluated the predictive value of PIVKA-II for vascular invasion in PDAC.

METHODS

A total of 138 patients with PDAC and 90 patients with pancreatic benign lesions who underwent pancreatic surgery from 2017 to 2020 were enrolled. The clinicopathological characteristics were recorded.

RESULTS

There was a significant difference in levels of serum PIVKA-II between PDAC patients and patients with pancreatic benign lesions (p < 0.001). When the cut-off value was set to 28.9 mAU/mL according to the ROCs, the AUC, sensitivity, and specificity of PIVKA-II were 0.787, 68.1%, and 83.3%, respectively. The combined PIVKA-II and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) enhanced the diagnostic accuracy, and the AUC, sensitivity, and specificity were 0.945, 87.7%, and 94.4%, respectively. PIVKA-II > 36.4 mAU/mL were independent predictive factors of vascular invasion in PDAC (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

PIVKA-II was a potential diagnostic biomarker to differentiate PDAC from pancreatic benign lesions. PIVKA-II was complementary to CA19-9, and the combination enhanced the differential diagnostic performance. PIVKA-II > 36.4 mAU/mL was an independent predictive factor of vascular invasion in PDAC.

Clinical value of serum AFP and PIVKA-II for diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

The accuracy of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) as a diagnostic marker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is insufficient, and the application of abnormal prothrombin (PIVKA-II) in HCC is still controversial.

METHODS

Serum AFP and PIVKA-II levels were analyzed in 145 cases of HCC, 57 of benign liver disease, 55 of cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder carcinoma, 112 of other gastrointestinal tumors with liver metastasis, and 101 healthy controls. Receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curve were used to evaluate the diagnostic value of AFP and PIVKA-II for HCC. The changes in serum AFP and PIVKA-II levels before and after treatment in 47 HCC patients who underwent surgery and 77 who received interventional treatment were used to evaluate treatment efficacy and prognosis in HCC.

RESULTS

The concentrations of AFP and PIVKA-II in the HCC group were significantly higher than those in other groups (p < 0.01). The diagnostic value of PIVKA-II in HCC was better than that of AFP, and combined detection improved the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. The levels of AFP and PIVKA-II after liver cancer surgery were significantly lower than those before surgery. Elevated levels of PIVKA-II before surgery predicted disease progression, and patients who remained positive for PIVKA-II after surgery had worse prognosis than those who became negative after surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

Combined detection of AFP and PIVKA-II is superior to both tests alone. We found that higher serum level of PIVKA-II indicates more severe HCC, with worse prognosis, while the level of AFP had no correlation with the prognosis.

PIVKA-II: A biomarker for diagnosing and monitoring patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an incurable cancer without adequate tumor markers. Our previous study has showed a better diagnostic performance of Protein Induced by Vitamin K Absence II (PIVKA-II) compared to currently used PDAC biomarkers. To corroborate our previous data with a larger sample size and to assess a possible role of PIVKA-II in predicting surgical success. Additionally, to further evaluate the hypothesis of a direct PIVKA-II production by PDAC cells, we examined PIVKA-II tissue expression in a case of PDAC using immunofluorescence.

METHODS

We enrolled 76 newly diagnosed PDAC patients and selected 11 patients to determine PIVKA-II levels also after surgical resection. An immunofluorescence (IF) study of PIVKA-II tissue expression was carried out in one of them. PIVKA-II serum values were measured by chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay method (CLEIA) on LUMIPULSE G1200 (Fujirebio-Europe, Belgium).

RESULTS

PIVKA-II serum levels were above the cut-off at baseline in 71 patients (94%) with a median value of 464 mAU/Ml (range 27-40783 mAU/mL); the sensitivity and specificity were 78.67% and 90.67% respectively. Patients with pre-operative PIVKA-II positivity showed a significant decrease (P < 0.015) of median PIVKA-II serum concentrations after surgery: 820 (91-40783) mAU/mL at diagnosis vs 123 (31-4666) mAU/mL post-operatively. IF assay on PDAC sections demonstrated PIVKA-II expression in cancer cells.

CONCLUSION

These data are the first showing a decreased PIVKA-II serum levels after surgery in PDAC patients and reporting PIVKA-II expression in PDAC tissue. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to determine PIVKA-II usefulness in diagnosing and monitoring PDAC patients.

Prognostic Impact of Coagulation Activity in Patients Undergoing Curative Resection for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND/AIM

The aim of this study was to elucidate the clinical impact of coagulation disorders on outcomes after curative resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Preoperative coagulation activity in 135 patients, who had undergone curative resections for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma was retrospectively evaluated and the impact on survival outcomes analyzed.

RESULTS

A prolonged prothrombin time-international normalized ratio (PT-INR) (≥1.1) was detected in 23/135 patients (17%). Univariate analysis that showed prolonged PT-INR was associated with worse relapse-free (hazard ratio=1.79, p=0.044) and overall (hazard ratio=2.18, p=0.004) survival. Multivariate analyses showed prolonged PT-INR, large tumor (>30 mm), and lymph node metastasis were independent predictors of poor overall survival.

CONCLUSION

Prolonged PT-INR may be a predictor of poor prognosis in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who have undergone curative resection. Coagulation disorders may be a therapeutic target for improving outcomes of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist II (PIVKA-II) producing large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) of lung with multiple liver metastases: A case report

A 78-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for multiple lung and liver tumors. Initial clinical diagnosis was hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with lung metastases because of a high value of serum protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist II (PIVKA-II) (6,705 mAU/mL). However, a review of a prior CT showed the lung tumor had existed 6 months before liver tumors were detected. The tumors progressed rapidly and the patient died 37 days after admission. Autopsy revealed that both lung and liver tumors exhibited the histology of large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC). Immunohistochemistry revealed that the tumor cells expressed not only neuroendocrine markers but also PIVKA-II diffusely. Hepatoid differentiation was not detected. Background liver did not show any chronic liver disease. The final diagnosis was PIVKA-II producing LCNEC of the lung with multiple liver metastases. PIVKA-II producing tumors other than HCC are extremely rare. To our best knowledge, this is the first case report of PIVKA-II producing neuroendocrine tumors of the lung.

Prolonged Survival in a Case of Chemotherapy-Sensitive Gastric Cancer That Produced Alpha-Fetoprotein and Protein Induced by Vitamin K Antagonist-II

The number of reported cases of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)-producing gastric cancer has gradually increased, with a reported prevalence of 1.3–1.5% of all gastric cancer cases. However, reports of gastric cancer accompanied by elevated serum levels of both AFP and protein induced by vitamin K antagonist-II (PIVKA-II) are rare. The prognosis of AFP- and PIVKA-II-producing gastric cancer has been reported to be very poor because the tumor cells were considered to have a high malignant potential and the cancer progressed rapidly. We described a case of gastric cancer producing AFP and PIVKA-II in which chemotherapy was effective and resulted in prolonged survival, and these two tumor markers were useful for monitoring the treatment response. Routine health screening using upper abdominal ultrasonography revealed hepatic tumors in an apparently healthy 65-year-old man. Whole-body computed tomography (CT) revealed multiple hepatic tumors, and an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) revealed a Bormann type 3 tumor in the lower stomach. A biopsy specimen confirmed that the tumor was immunohistochemically positive for AFP, PIVKA-II, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. After chemotherapy, the gastric tumor appeared as a small elevated lesion on EGD, and CT revealed a remarkable reduction in the size of the metastatic liver tumors. The patient is still alive, 35 months after the initial chemotherapy.

Primary colon cancer with a high serum PIVKA-II level

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Protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist II (PIVKA-II) is a newly recognized tumor marker for hepatocellular carcinoma.

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It is proposed that PIVKA-II may be useful primarily as a prognostic biomarker, predicting rapid tumor progression and poorer prognosis.

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PIVKA-II-producing colon cancer is an extremely rare subtype of colon cancer.

Introduction

Protein induced by vitamin K absence/antagonist-II (PIVKA-II) is an abnormal protein, and several reports have demonstrated the efficacy of PIVKA-II in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We report an extremely rare case of adenocarcinoma of the colon with a high serum PIVKA-II level.

Presentation of Case

A 95-year-old woman presented with right lower quadrant pain and appetite loss. An abdominal computed tomography scan and ultrasonography showed an ascending colon tumor and multiple metastatic tumors in the liver. The serum level of PIVKA-II was extremely high, 11,900 ng/mL. Colonoscopic examination revealed a tumor accompanied by an ulcer in the ascending colon, which was highly suspicious for malignancy. Multiple biopsies showed well-differentiated adenocarcinoma of the colon, which was evaluated as colon cancer, stage IV. PIVKA-II-productive colon cancer was confirmed. Chemotherapy with TS-1 was administered. The patient died 3 months after initial admission.

Discussion

The expression of PIVKA-II was detected in non-cancer areas, with non-specific expression observed in plasma cells in our case. There might be some possibility that hepatoid differentiation exists in other regions of the colon tumor or in the liver tumor, parenchymal cells or lung metastases, which were composed of PIVKA-II-positive and AFP-negative cells.

Conclusion

To the best of our knowledge, high serum levels of PIVKA-II resulting from colon adenocarcinoma have not been reported previously. We report this rare case together with a review of the literature.

Clinical utility of protein induced by vitamin K absence in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). α-fetoprotein (AFP) is a common tumor marker for the diagnosis of HCC, although not for protein induced by the absence of vitamin K or antagonist-II (PIVKA-II). The present study aimed to evaluate the role of PIVKA-II in the diagnosis of HCC in HBV-infected Vietnamese patients. A total of 166 consecutive HBV-infected Vietnamese patients were enrolled, including 41 HCC, 43 liver cirrhosis (LC), 26 chronic hepatitis (CH) and 56 asymptomatic carriers (ASC). AFP was examined using ELISA, while PIVKA-II was analyzed using Eitest PIVKA-II. The cut-off level of AFP and PIVKA-II was 20 ng/ml and 40 mAU/ml, respectively. Although the markers, AFP (344±356 ng/ml) and PIVKA-II (16,200±25,386 mAU/ml), were the highest in the HCC groups, only PIVKA-II in HCC was significantly higher compared to the other groups (P<0.001). The univariate analysis demonstrated that age over 50, male, genotype C, AFP and PIVKA-II were risk factors of LC and HCC. Results of the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis showed that PIVKA-II was more sensitive to HCC compared to AFP. Moreover, PIVKA-II was strongly correlated with the portal venous thrombosis in HCC, as opposed to AFP. Results of the multivariate analysis demonstrated that PIVKA-II was the strongest independent risk factor of LC and HCC. In conclusion, PIVKA-II is likely to be a better marker for the diagnosis of HCC in chronic HBV-infected Vietnamese patients.