title: Serum transferrin as a liver fibrosis biomarker in patients with chronic hepatitis B.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyo Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Soon Sun
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Seun Joo
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Joo Han
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Joon
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
authors.forename: Young Bae
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Youn
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Cheong
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019540:Area Under Curve; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D061250:Transferrins / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult; D000515:alpha 1-Antitrypsin / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D061250:Transferrins; D000515:alpha 1-Antitrypsin
keywords: Alpha-1 antitrypsin; Chronic hepatitis B; Liver cirrhosis; Transferrin