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. 2014 Dec;20(4):347-54.
doi: 10.3350/cmh.2014.20.4.347. Epub 2014 Dec 24.

Serum transferrin as a liver fibrosis biomarker in patients with chronic hepatitis B

Hyo Jung Cho  1 , Soon Sun Kim  1 , Seun Joo Ahn  1 , Joo Han Park  1 , Dong Joon Kim  2 , Young Bae Kim  3 , Sung Won Cho  1 , Jae Youn Cheong  1
Affiliations

Serum transferrin as a liver fibrosis biomarker in patients with chronic hepatitis B

Hyo Jung Cho et al. Clin Mol Hepatol. 2014 Dec.

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.

Keywords: Alpha-1 antitrypsin; Chronic hepatitis B; Liver cirrhosis; Transferrin.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of serum transferrin levels according to liver fibrosis stage. The serum transferrin level was significantly lower in advanced fibrosis (stage F3 or F4) than in mild fibrosis (stage F1 or F2).
Figure 2
Figure 2
ROC curves for the serum transferrin level and the serum platelet count for discriminating chronic hepatitis B patients with advanced liver fibrosis from those with mild fibrosis. The area under the curve was 0.606 for the serum transferrin level (P=0.002) and 0.697 for the serum platelet count (P<0.001). ROC, receiver operating characteristics; AUC, area under the curve.
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