Soluble Axl Is a Novel Diagnostic Biomarker of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Chinese Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of soluble Axl (sAxl) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in comparison with serum α-fetoprotein (AFP).

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Eighty HCC patients, 80 liver cirrhosis patients (LC), 80 patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, and 80 healthy controls (HC) were enrolled. sAxl levels were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, serum AFP levelswere measured by an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate diagnostic performances.

RESULTS:

The results show that levels of sAxl were high expression in patients with HCC (p < 0.05), varied with disease state as follows: HCC > LC > HC > HBV. Logistic regression and ROC curve analysis identified the optimal cut-off for sAxl in differentiating all HCC and non-HCC patients was 1,202 pg/mL (area under the receiver operating characteristic [AUC], 0.888; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.852 to 0.924) with sensitivity 95.0%, specificity 73.3%. Furthermore, differential diagnosis of early HCC with non-HCC patients for sAxl showed the optimal cut-off was 1,202 pg/mL (AUC, 0.881; 95% CI, 0.831 to 0.931; sensitivity, 94.1%; specificity, 73.3%). Among AFP-negative HCC patients with non-HCC patients, the cut-off was 1,301 pg/mL (AUC, 0.898; 95% CI, 0.854 to 0.942) with a sensitivity of 84.6%, a specificity of 76.3%. The optimal cut-off for sAxl in differentiating all HCC and chronic liver disease patients was 1,243 pg/mL (AUC, 0.840; 95% CI, 0.791 to 0.888) with sensitivity 93.8%, specificity 61.9%. The combination of AFP and sAxl increased diagnostic value for HCC.

CONCLUSION:

sAxl outperforms AFP in detecting HCC, especially in early HCC and in AFP-negative HCC. Combination sAxl with AFP improved the specificity for early HCC diagnosis. In summary, sAxl is a candidate serum marker for diagnosing HCC.

• Authors: Xiaoting Song, Ailu Wu, Zhixiao Ding, Shixiong Liang, Chunyan Zhang
• Journal: Cancer research and treatment (Cancer Res Treat) Vol. 52 Issue 3 Pg. 789-797 (Jul 2020) ISSN: 2005-9256 [Electronic] Korea (South)
• PMID: 32138467 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Biomarkers, Tumor
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins
• alpha-Fetoproteins
• Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
• Axl Receptor Tyrosine Kinase

Topics

• Biomarkers, Tumor (blood)
• Carcinoma, Hepatocellular (blood, diagnosis, epidemiology, virology)
• Case-Control Studies
• China (epidemiology)
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Hepatitis B virus (isolation & purification)
• Hepatitis B, Chronic (complications, virology)
• Humans
• Liver Neoplasms (blood, diagnosis, epidemiology, virology)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Prognosis
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins (blood)
• ROC Curve
• Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases (blood)
• Retrospective Studies
• alpha-Fetoproteins (analysis)
• Axl Receptor Tyrosine Kinase