Abstracts of the 2025 Annual Meeting of the ALEH
More infoIdentifying serum biomarkers capable of effectively distinguishing fibrosis stages is critical for early diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring in chronic liver disease. Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of IGFBP proteins, cytokines, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) across different fibrosis stages.
Patients and MethodsA prospective, cross-sectional, multicenter study was conducted. Untreated patients with chronic hepatitis C (cHC) were recruited and classified using FibroTest® and/or FibroScan®. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were analyzed to compare serum levels of IGFBP 1-7 (ng/ml), cytokines (IL-1a, IL-2, IL-10. IL-12p70; pg/ml), and MMPs (2, 7 and 9; ng/ml) between F0, F1F2, and F3F4 fibrosis groups. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05, and area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity (Se), and specificity (Sp) were reported.
ResultsA total of 461 cHC patients met inclusion criteria and were classified into F0 (n = 130), F1–F2 (n = 55), and F3–F4 (n = 216). For advanced fibrosis (F3F4 vs F0), IGFBP-4 had the highest performance, followed by IGFBP-5, IGFBP-2, and IGFBP-7, the latter with the highest specificity (91.4%). IGFBP-3 also reached significance. Among cytokines and MMPs, IL-10 and MMP-7 discriminated F1F2 vs F3F4 (Table).
ConclusionsIGFBP-4, IGFBP-5, IGFBP-7, and IL-10 showed significant accuracy in distinguishing fibrosis stages, particularly in identifying advanced fibrosis. Their high specificity and robust AUC values support their role as non-invasive biomarkers that may complement or reduce the need for liver biopsy. These findings warrant further investigation in broader clinical settings.
