title: The utility of thrombopoietin in predicting liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B.
abstract: Many noninvasive serum markers have been studied to determine the liver fibrosis score (LFS). In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between thrombopoietin (TPO) levels and the stage of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Seventy-seven patients (64 active and 13 inactive) with CHB were included in this cross-sectional study. Patients were divided into three groups: In group 1, patients with mild or no fibrosis (F0, F1); in group 2, patients with significant fibrosis (F2-F4); and in group 3, inactive CHB carriers. Digital patient records were used to access pre-treatment laboratory findings including HBV DNA, HBeAg, ALT, AST, total bilirubin, PLT, albumin, INR. Liver biopsies were examined by experienced pathologists in our hospital who were blinded to the data of the patients. Serum TPO levels were measured using commercial ELISA kit. Serum TPO levels were significantly lower in patients with active CHB compared with the inactive carriers (528 vs 687.1 p=0.003). There was no statistically significant difference in TPO levels between the patients with and patients without significant fibrosis (568.9 vs 459.8 p=0.367). Correlation analysis with respect to ALT, AST, TPO, HBV-DNA level, platelet count, histological activity index (HAI) and liver fibrosis score was performed. TPO was only weakly positively correlated with AST, ALT and HBV-DNA levels (r=0.269 p=0.018; r=0.341 p=0.002; r=0.308 p=0.006; respectively) and no correlation in TPO with LFS and HAI was found (r=0.140 p=0.270, r=0.162 p=0.201; respectively). TPO was not associated with significant fibrosis (p=0.270). In conclusion, TPO levels were decreased in active CHB patients compared with inactive carriers but there was no correlation between TPO levels and the stage of fibrosis in active CHB.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Educational and Research Hospital Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Baris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Educational and Research Hospital Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Omer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Basar
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Educational and Research Hospital Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Akif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Altınbas
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Educational and Research Hospital Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fuat
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ekiz
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Educational and Research Hospital Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bora
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aktas
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Educational and Research Hospital Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gülfer
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Oztürk
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Educational and Research Hospital Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Zeynep
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ginis
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Educational and Research Hospital Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sahin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Coban
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Educational and Research Hospital Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Engin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ucar
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Educational and Research Hospital Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Elife
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Erarslan
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Educational and Research Hospital Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Coskun
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Educational and Research Hospital Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ilhami
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yüksel
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Akdeniz University Antalya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yasar
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tuna
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Educational and Research Hospital Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Osman
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yüksel
keywords: Thrombopoietin; chronic hepatitis B; liver fibrosis