The association of the serum levels of myostatin, follistatin, and interleukin-6 with sarcopenia, and their impacts on survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma
- Author:
Kanghyug CHOI
1
;
Hee Yoon JANG
;
Joong Mo AHN
;
Sung Ho HWANG
;
Jung Wha CHUNG
;
Yun Suk CHOI
;
Jin-Wook KIM
;
Eun Sun JANG
;
Gwang Hyeon CHOI
;
Sook-Hyang JEONG
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- From:Clinical and Molecular Hepatology 2020;26(4):492-505
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:0
-
Abstract:
Background/Aims:The role of serum myokine levels in sarcopenia and the outcome of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients are not clear. This study investigated the serum levels of myostatin, follistatin, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in HCC patients and their association with sarcopenia and survival.
Methods:Using prospectively collected pretreatment samples from 238 HCC patients in a hospital from 2012 to 2015, the serum levels of 3 myokines were determined and compared to 50 samples from age and sex-matched healthy controls. Sarcopenia was evaluated using the psoas muscle index (PMI) measured at the third lumbar level in the computed tomography, and clinical data were collected until 2017.
Results:The median levels of the 3 myokines for the male and female HCC patients were as follow: myostatin (3,979.3 and 2,976.3 pg/mL), follistatin (2,118.5 and 2,174.6 pg/mL), and IL-6 (2.5 and 2.7 pg/mL), respectively. Those in the HCC patients were all significantly higher than in the healthy controls. In the HCC patient, the median PMI was 4.43 (males) and 2.17 cm2/m2 (females) with a sarcopenic prevalence of 56.4%. The serum levels of myostatin, IL-6 and follistatin in the HCC patients showed a positive, negative, and no correlation with PMI, respectively. The serum follistatin level was an independent factor for poor survival in HCC patients.
Conclusions:The serum levels of myostatin, follistatin, and IL-6 and their correlation with sarcopenia and survival were presented in HCC patients for the first time. The role of the serum follistatin level as a poor prognostic biomarker warrants further study.
