sFRP-4, a potential novel serum marker for chronic hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Background The current methods used for diagnosing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are unsatisfactory. Here, we assessed the serum levels of secreted frizzled related protein 4 (sFRP-4) for diagnosing HCC in patients infected with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Methods In 272 patients with CHB enrolled, 142 were patients with HCC. Thirty-three healthy subjects were recruited as healthy controls. The CHB patients were assigned to a test group or a validation group based on the time of enrollment. Human antibody arrays were used to screen 15 patients (8 CHB-related HCC patients, 7 CHB patients) for serum markers. Four markers and one candidate marker were assessed in the test group and validation group, respectively. Results Human antibody assays indicated that the serum levels of sFRP-4 in HCC patients were significantly higher than those in CHB patients ( P P P Conclusion sFRP-4 is a candidate serum marker for diagnosing HCC in CHB patients, and the combination of sFRP-4 with AFP may improve the diagnostic accuracy of HCC.