Red Blood Cell Distribution Width as a Diagnostic Marker of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Cirrhotic Patients

Although α-fetoprotein (AFP) is the main marker used for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC), its sensitivity and specificity as a screening tool have been questionable. Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) has been involved as a prognostic tool for many diseases and cancers including liver diseases. Still, its role in the diagnosis of HCC needs to be identified. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical importance of RDW as a novel marker in the diagnosis of HCC in Egyptian cirrhotic patients.

This cross-sectional study was carried out on 162 cirrhotic patients who attended Tropical medicine department clinics and inpatient wards at the Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University. Then they were divided into 2 groups of 81 patients each depending on their diagnosis with or without HCC (group I and group II respectively). Complete blood picture (CBC) that included red cell distribution width- coefficient of variation (RDW-CV) and AFP were obtained from all patients.

There was a statistically significant elevation in RDW-CV in the HCC group as its mean± SD was 15.2.± 1.86 in HCC group versus 13.8 ± 1.99 in non HCC group (P<0.001). In addition, AFP was significantly elevated in group I than in group II (P<0.001). RDW-CV at a cut–off >14% had a 66.76%sensitivity and 61.73%specificity while AFP at a cut-off value>20 ng/ml had a 60.49%sensitivity and 79.01%specificity in the diagnosis of HCC. The combination of RDW-CV and AFP increased the sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of HCC(72.84% and 87.65% respectively) than each marker alone.

RDW may be considered a novel and cheap biomarker for the diagnosis of HCC either alone or in combination with AFP as it is readily available in CBC and does not need sophisticated techniques.