The existing blood test AFP, has an accuracy rate of only 20~50 percent, but this new test detects the cancer with 92~96 percent accuracy, allowing for detection of the cancer at early stages by simply taking a blood test.

Professors Kim Jin-woo and Yoon Seung-kyu of Catholic University's Kangnam Saint Mary's Hospital led the research team that developed the high percentage detection kit for liver cancer called "HepaCheck." They figured out the kit's detection rate for the 570 liver cancer sufferers who visited Saint Mary's Hospital to get treatment and found that the kit was able to detect 92 percent of liver cancer tumors smaller than 2cm and 96 percent of tumors bigger than 2cm.

The former AFP test could detect liver cancer only 20~30 percent of the time if the tumors were smaller than 2cm and only 50 percent if they were bigger than 2cm.

The results were reported in the Internet edition of the magazine "Cancer Research." The magazine is globally known among cancer researchers. The results will soon be published officially in journal form.

Professor Kim explained, "The AFP test sometimes showed false positive results in pregnant women and hepatitis and other related liver diseases, but the HepaCheck kit only responds to liver cancer, not to factors such as pregnancy or other liver diseases."

Professor Yoon also noted, "The growth rate of liver cancer tumors is very slow at the early stage and therefore, if it is defected at the beginning, a complete cure is very likely." In addition, he said, "We've set a ground stone to improve the early detection and cure of liver cancer."

The HepaCheck kit is already complete and its inventors have won a patent in Korea, the U.S. and Japan. Dr. Kim announced that it is in the process of applying for a patent in Europe as well.

(Lim Ho-jun, hjlim@chosun.com )