I recommend ultrasonography of the liver combined
with measurement of serum alpha-fetoprotein
levels every 6 to 12 months as surveillance for
hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with cirrhosis
or advanced hepatic fibrosis, irrespective of
the cause. Both are also useful in surveillance of
HBV carriers with or without cirrhosis if they are
Africans older than 20 years of age or Asians
older than 40 years of age or if they have a family
history of hepatocellular carcinoma. Because
hepatocellular carcinoma is rare in HCV-infected
patients with mild or no hepatic fibrosis, surveillance
is not recommended for this group. With a
cutoff point of 20 ng per milliliter, serum levels
of alpha-fetoprotein have low sensitivity (25 to
65%) for the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma
and are therefore considered inadequate as the
sole means of surveillance. Ultrasonography has a
sensitivity of approximately 65% and a specificity of
more than 90% for early detection.31 The calls for
abandoning the monitoring of alpha-fetoprotein
levels may be premature,32 especially given the
already low rates of surveillance of hepatocellular