Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein predicts the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

• Published in: Hepatology research 2018-01
• Main Authors: Kawanaka, Miwa, Tomiyama, Yasuyuki, Hyogo, Hideyuki, Koda, Masahiko, Shima, Toshihide, Tobita, Hiroshi, Hiramatsu, Akira, Nishino, Ken, Okamoto, Toshiaki, Sato, Shuichi, Hara, Yuichi, Nishina, Sohji, Kawamoto, Hirofumi, Chayama, Kazuaki, Okanoue, Takeshi, Hino, Keisuke
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1386-6346
• DOI: 10.1111/hepr.13054

As it is not practical to survey hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in all patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), there is a need to identify NAFLD patients who are at high risk for HCC. Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein (WFA -M2BP) has been demonstrated to be a surrogate marker for predicting HCC as well as a liver fibrosis marker in patients with chronic hepatitis B and C. The aim of this study was to investigate whether WFA -M2BP predicts HCC development in NAFLD patients. Serum WFA -M2BP was retrospectively measured in 331 patients with histologically proven NAFLD, 51 of whom developed HCC. The association of WFA -M2BP and HCC development in NAFLD patients was investigated. WFA -M2BP values were significantly greater in NAFLD patients with HCC than in those without HCC among patients with liver fibrosis ≥stage 3. Multivariate analysis identified WFA -M2BP as one of the predictive factors for HCC development (OR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.083-2.265, P=0.017). The optimal cutoff index of WFA -M2BP for predicting HCC was 1.255 with specificity of 78.4% and sensitivity of 70.4%. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve value for the prediction of HCC development was 0.806. The cumulative incidence rate of HCC was significantly greater in patients with WFA -M2BP≥1.255 (n=61) than in those with WFA -M2BP