Value of serum protective activity against acid precipitation of poly (U) in the differentiation between cirrhotic patients with and without hepatocellular carcinoma.

The serum protective activity against acid precipitation of poly (U) and a-fetoprotein levels were compared in 39 cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and in 33 patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) alone, in order to differentiate malignant and nonmalignant chronic liver disease. All but one (97.4%) patients with HCC were found to have serum protective activity levels of greater than or equal to 21 micrograms/ml, whereas all but one (97%) patients with CLD had serum protective activity levels of less than or equal to 20 micrograms/ml.