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. 2025 Jun 12;16(8):2680-2689.
doi: 10.7150/jca.112394. eCollection 2025.

Prognostic Value of Des-Gamma-Carboxy Prothrombin in AFP-Negative Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Following Liver Resection: A Multicenter Study

Si-Yu Liu  1   2 , Mu-Gen Dai  3 , Wen-Feng Lu  4 , Lei Liang  5 , Jun-Wei Liu  5 , Zhuo-Kai Li  6 , Bin Ye  3
Affiliations

Prognostic Value of Des-Gamma-Carboxy Prothrombin in AFP-Negative Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Following Liver Resection: A Multicenter Study

Si-Yu Liu et al. J Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major global health concern with high postoperative recurrence rates. Des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) is a promising biomarker for HCC prognosis, but its optimal cutoff value remains unclear, especially in AFP-negative patients. This study aimed to determine the ideal cutoff value of DCP in AFP-negative HCC patients following liver resection and to investigate its impact on long-term outcomes. Methods: This multicenter retrospective study included 661 patients who underwent curative HCC resection between 2015 and 2020 at three Chinese hospitals. Patients with AFP levels < 20 ng/mL were included. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and time to recurrence (TTR). DCP levels were categorized as low (≤ 600 mAU/ml) and high (> 600 mAU/ml). Results: Among the 661 patients (median age 56 years; 88.4% men), 477 had low DCP levels and 184 had high DCP levels. Patients with high DCP levels had more aggressive tumor characteristics, including larger tumor size, microvascular invasion, and macrovascular invasion. The 5-year OS rates were 76.3% in the low DCP group vs. 57.6% in the high DCP group (P < 0.001), and the 5-year recurrence rates were 44.9% vs. 61.0% (P < 0.001), respectively. Multivariable analysis showed that high DCP levels were an independent risk factor for decreased OS (HR 1.548, 95%CI 1.135-2.111; P = 0.006) and increased TTR (HR 1.390, 95%CI 1.081-1.787; P = 0.010). Conclusion: A DCP cutoff value of 600 mAU/ml effectively stratifies AFP-negative HCC patients into high- and low-risk groups for survival and recurrence after liver resection. This cutoff value can guide clinical decision-making and improve prognostic accuracy.

Keywords: des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin; hepatectomy; recurrence; survival, hepatocellular carcinoma.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Selection of the study population.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curves comparing the predictive performance of the different cutoff values of DCP for overall survival (A) and time to recurrence (B).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Curves comparisons of overall survival (A) and time to recurrence (B) between two groups (calculated by log-rank test).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Subgroup analysis of overall survival between two groups.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Subgroup analysis of time-to-recurrence between two groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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