Abstract
AIM: To find new serum biomarkers for liver cirrhosis (LC) in chronic carriers of hepatitis B virus (HBV). METHODS: Surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (SELDI-TOF) mass spectrometry was used to discover biomarkers for differentiating HBV induced LC from non-cirrhotic cohorts. A training population of 25 patients with HBV-induced LC, 20 patients with HCC, and 25 closely age-matched healthy men, was studied. RESULTS: Two biomarkers with M(r) 7 772 and 3 933 were detected in sera of non-cirrhotic cohorts, but not in patients with HBV-induced LC. A sensitivity of 80% for all LC patients, a specificity of 81.8% for all non-cirrhotic cohorts and a positive predictive value of 75% for the study population were obtained. CONCLUSION: These two serum biomarkers for HBV-induced LC might be used for diagnosis and assessment of disease progression.