Journal of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (May 2023)
Detection of sFas, sCD137, and IL-27 Cytokines as Potential Biomarkers for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Diagnosis
Abstract
Xuan-Hai Do,1 Mai Thi Le,2,3 Thu Huyen Nguyen,2 Thanh Thien Le,2 Xuan-Hung Nguyen,2,4 Thanh Binh Mai,5 Thi My Nhung Hoang,3 Uyen Thi Trang Than2 1Department of Practical and Experimental Surgery, Vietnam Military Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam; 2Center of Applied Sciences, Regenerative Medicine and Advance Technologies, Vinmec Healthcare System, Hanoi, Vietnam; 3Faculty of Biology, VNU University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam; 4College of Health Sciences, VinUniversity, Hanoi, Vietnam; 5Department of Gastroenterology, 108 Military Central Hospital, Hanoi, VietnamCorrespondence: Uyen Thi Trang Than, 458 Minh Khai, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi, Vietnam, Tel +84 85662355, Email [email protected]: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a prevalent type of liver cancer, is mainly diagnosed in the advanced stage, leading to a high mortality rate. Recent advances have identified peripheral cytokines as a potential tool to predict disease outcomes and inform therapeutic decisions. Hence, in this study, we aim to build a predictive model for HCC based on serum levels of different cytokines.Patients and Methods: We used immunoassay to quantify the concentrations of IL-27, MIP-1β, Perforin, sCD137, sFas, and TNF-α in the serum of 38 HCC patients and 15 healthy controls. Logistic regression was then used to construct classification models detecting HCC based on these cytokines. A nomogram of the best-performing model was generated to visualize HCC prediction.Results: sFas and MIP-1β were found to be significantly higher in HCC patients compared to controls. Predictive models based on cytokine levels combining sFas, sCD137, and IL-27 performed the best in distinguishing HCC patients from healthy controls. This model has a bias-corrected area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of 0.948, a sensitivity of 92.11%, a specificity of 93.33%, and an accuracy of 0.925.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that serum cytokines have the potential to be utilized in HCC screening to improve detection rates.Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma, cytokines, serum, biomarkers