Retinol-binding protein 4 as a promising serum biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of hepatocellular Carcinoma

作者：Fengjie Wan, Yujia Zhu, Feixiang Wu, Xuejing Huang, Ying Chen, Yi Zhou, Hongtao Li, Lifang Liang, Lirong Qin, Qi Wang, Min He · 发表于：Translational Oncology · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.tranon.2024.101979 · 被引用次数：14 · 研究领域：Retinoids in leukemia and cellular processes、Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment、Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment and Prognosis

BACKGROUND: The prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is universally poor. Early diagnosis plays a pivotal role in determining the outcome of HCC. METHODS: We employed a comparative proteomics approach to identify potential biomarkers and validated the application of retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) as a biomarker for HCC. RBP4 protein expression was examined in liver tissues from 80 HCC patients through immunohistochemical analysis. Serum RBP4 concentrations were measured by ELISA in a cohort comprising 290 HCC patients, matched 202 chronic hepatitis B patients and 269 healthy controls. Survival data were collected from HCC patients. The diagnostic and prognostic values of RBP4 were evaluated using receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis. RESULTS: The validation results demonstrated a significant reduction in RBP4 levels in both liver tissues and serum samples from HCC patients. ROC analysis of the diagnostic value of RBP4 revealed an AUC of 0.879 (95 % CI: 0.854∼0.903) for HCC. When combined with AFP, the AUC increased to 0.919, with a sensitivity of 87.9 % and specificity of 80 %. Survival analysis revealed significantly reduced overall survival time in individuals with low-expression of RBP4 compared to those with high-expression. The joint prognostic model exhibited an AUC of 0.926 (95 % CI: 0.888∼0.964), which was significantly higher than that of AFP alone (AUC=0.809; P <0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: RBP4 shows a great potential as a biomarker with appreciable diagnostic...