Abstract: Objective To observe the diagnostic value of des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin （DCP）and explore effective methods for early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma（HCC）. Methods Fourty cases of HCC patients were collected from 2013 to 2016 in the hospital; 40 inpatients with other liver diseases and cancers except for HCC,and 40 healthy subjects were taken as control. ELISA and electrochemiluminescence immunoassay were used to detect DCP and AFP for comparison of DCP and AFP with those in the four groups so as to reveal the relations of their concentrations to HCC clinical characters. Results DCP concentrations（ng/ml）in HCC,liver tumors and liver disorders rather than HCC,and control groups were found to be 642.7±467.8,8.96±6.71,10.62±7.71 and 3.69±2.00 respectively;AFP concentrations（ng/ml）were 781.0±683.9,8.92±7.65,9.10±8.42 and 4.16±2.83 resectively. The average concentrations of DCP and AFP in HCC group were notably higher than those in the other three groups（P<0.01）. No significant difference of the concentrations of DCP and AFP was seen between liver tumors and other liver disorders（P>0.05）. Based on the cut-off value of DCP>12 ng/ml,the sensitivity of 80.0% and specificity of 83.2% were obtained while on the value of AFP>20ng/ml，sesitivity of 75.0% and specificity of 86.0% were noted. A combined tests of DCP and AFP gave rise to the sensitivity and specificity of as high as 87.5% and 88.7% respectively. Correlation analysis showed that DCP concentration was positively related to tumor size（r=0.632，P＜0.021）. Conclusion A combined test of DCP and AFP may benefit for early diagnosis of HCC although DCP is an essential marker.

Key words: Des- gamma- carboxy prothrombin, Early stage, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Diagnosis