Serum transferrin as a liver fibrosis biomarker in patients with chronic hepatitis B.
10.3350/cmh.2014.20.4.347
- Author:
Hyo Jung CHO
1
;
Soon Sun KIM
;
Seun Joo AHN
;
Joo Han PARK
;
Dong Joon KIM
;
Young Bae KIM
;
Sung Won CHO
;
Jae Youn CHEONG
Author Information
1. Department of Gastroenterology, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea. jaeyoun620@gmail.com
- Publication Type:Original Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Keywords:
Chronic hepatitis B;
Liver cirrhosis;
Transferrin;
Alpha-1 antitrypsin
- MeSH:
Adolescent;
Adult;
Aged;
Area Under Curve;
Biological Markers/blood;
Female;
Hepatitis B, Chronic/complications/*diagnosis/pathology;
Humans;
Liver Cirrhosis/complications/*diagnosis;
Male;
Middle Aged;
Multivariate Analysis;
ROC Curve;
Retrospective Studies;
Transferrins/*blood;
Young Adult;
alpha 1-Antitrypsin/blood
- From:Clinical and Molecular Hepatology
2014;20(4):347-354
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Transferrin and alpha-1 antitrypsin are reportedly associated with liver fibrosis. We evaluated the usefulness of serum transferrin and alpha-1 antitrypsin as new liver fibrosis markers in patients with chronic hepatitis B. METHODS: The study included 293 patients with chronic hepatitis B who underwent a liver biopsy between October 2005 and June 2009, and who had no history of hepatocellular carcinoma. Serum markers and liver fibrosis stages were compared. RESULTS: Univariate analysis revealed that age (P<0.001), serum platelet count (P<0.001), and serum alkaline phosphatase level (P=0.003) differed significantly between the patients with and without liver cirrhosis. Serum transferrin levels were significantly lower in advanced fibrosis than in mild fibrosis in both univariate analysis (P=0.002) and multivariate analysis (P=0.009). In addition, the serum transferrin level was significantly lower in cirrhotic patients than in noncirrhotic patients (P=0.020). However, the serum level of alpha-1 antitrypsin was not significantly associated with liver cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B. CONCLUSIONS: Serum transferrin could be promising serum marker for predicting advanced liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B.
