title: Latent transforming growth factor-beta binding protein-1 in circulating plasma as a novel biomarker for early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: This study aimed to assess the diagnostic value of the latent transforming growth factor-beta binding protein-1 (LTBP-1) in distinguishing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from patients with hepatitis or liver cirrhosis. The protein levels of LTBP-1 or AFP in circulating plasma were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or chemiluminescence in four cohorts: HCC (n = 167), liver cirrhosis (n = 50), chronic hepatitis B (CHB, n = 50), and healthy individuals (n = 104). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves and area under the curves (AUC) of the proteins were calculated. Results showed that plasma levels of LTBP-1 were significantly higher in HCC patients than those in other three groups. LTBP-1 showed a better diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.67-0.80) in distinguishing HCC from the CHB or cirrhosis patients, compared to AFP (AUC = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.52-0.65). In the early-stage HCCs investigated, diagnostic performance of LTBP-1 (AUC = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.70-0.84) remained better than that of AFP (AUC = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.52-0.69). Combination of LTBP-1 and AFP showed increased diagnostic efficiency than any of the two proteins performed alone, for both all HCC (AUC = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.72-0.83) and early-stage HCC (AUC = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.74-0.87). These findings proposed that LTBP-1 may be a promising biomarker for distinguishing HCC from the CHB or liver cirrhosis patients, especially for the early-stage HCC.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Department of Etiology and Carcinogenesis, Cancer Institute & Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Bangrong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Department of Etiology and Carcinogenesis, Cancer Institute & Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Abdominal Surgical Oncology, Cancer Institute & Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Weiqi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rong
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Department of Etiology and Carcinogenesis, Cancer Institute & Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Department of Etiology and Carcinogenesis, Cancer Institute & Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Naijun
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Department of Etiology and Carcinogenesis, Cancer Institute & Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Kaitai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Department of Etiology and Carcinogenesis, Cancer Institute & Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Shujun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Abdominal Surgical Oncology, Cancer Institute & Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jianxiong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Department of Etiology and Carcinogenesis, Cancer Institute & Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Department of Etiology and Carcinogenesis, Cancer Institute & Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yanning
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D019540:Area Under Curve; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D053779:Latent TGF-beta Binding Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: C097353:AFP protein, human; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C509032:LTBP1 protein, human; D053779:Latent TGF-beta Binding Proteins; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins
keywords: AFP; LTBP-1; biomarker; early detection; hepatocellular carcinoma