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Abstract Details
Differential Serum Cytokine Profiles in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B, C, and Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Author information
1
Stanford University Medical Center, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
2
Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA.
3
Stanford University Medical Center, Department of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
4
University of Michigan, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
5
Gilead Sciences, Foster City, CA, 94404, USA.
6
Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
7
Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Health Research and Policy (Epidemiology), Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
8
Stanford University Medical Center, The Human Immune Monitoring Center, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
9
Stanford University Medical Center, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA. mindiehn@stanford.edu.
Abstract
Cytokines play an important role in the pathogenesis of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), most cases of which are related to either hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV). Prior studies have examined differences in individual cytokine levels in patients with chronic liver disease, but comprehensive cytokine profiling data across different clinical characteristics are lacking. We examined serum cytokine profiles of 411 patients with HCC (n = 102: 32% HBV, 54% HCV, 14% non-viral) and without HCC (n = 309: 39% HBV, 39% HCV, 22% non-viral). Multiplex analysis (Luminex 200 IS) was used to measure serum levels of 51 common cytokines. Random forest machine learning was used to obtain receiver operator characteristic curves and to determine individual cytokine importance using Z scores of mean fluorescence intensity for individual cytokines. Among HCC and non-HCC patients, cytokine profiles differed between HBV and HCV patients (area under curve (AUC) 0.82 for HCC, 0.90 for non-HCC). Cytokine profiles did not distinguish cirrhotic HBV patients with and without HCC (AUC 0.503) or HCV patients with and without HCC (AUC 0.63). In conclusion, patients with HBV or HCV infection, with or without HCC, have distinctly different cytokine profiles, suggesting potential differences in disease pathogenesis and/or disease characteristics.