Kazankov Konstantin, Rode Anthony, Simonsen Kira, Villadsen Gerda Elisabeth, Nicoll Amanda, Møller Holger Jon, Lim Lucy, Angus Peter, Kronborg Ian, Arachchi Niranjan, Gorelik Alexandra, Liew Danny, Vilstrup Hendrik, Frystyk Jan, Grønbæk Henning
a Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology , Aarhus University Hospital , Aarhus , Denmark.
b Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology , Royal Melbourne Hospital , Melbourne , Australia.
Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 2016;76(1):64-73. doi: 10.3109/00365513.2015.1099722. Epub 2015 Nov 7.
Tumor associated macrophages are present in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and associated with a poor prognosis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the levels and dynamics of soluble (s)CD163, a specific macrophage activation marker, in patients with HCC.
In a cohort from Australia, we studied 109 HCC patients, 116 patients with chronic liver disease (CLD), and 52 healthy controls. We examined associations between baseline sCD163 and parameters of HCC severity as well as overall and progression-free survival. In a cohort of 42 Danish HCC patients, we measured sCD163 at baseline and 1, 4 and 12 weeks after ablative treatment.
In the Australian cohort, median sCD163 was similarly increased in HCC (5.6[interquartile range 3.5-8.0] mg/L) and CLD (6.1[3.6-9.6] mg/L) patients as compared to controls (2.0[1.5-2.7] mg/L, p < 0.001). sCD163 correlated with Child-Pugh and MELD scores in both HCC and CLD patients. Patients with high sCD163 levels had shorter progression-free survival (p < 0.001), but not overall survival (p = 0.15). In the Danish cohort, patients with HCC progression at 12 weeks had an increase in sCD163. There was no association between sCD163 and HCC size, number, vascular invasion or metastasis in any of the cohorts.
We confirmed increased sCD163 levels in CLD and HCC patients associated with Child-Pugh and MELD scores and portal hypertension, but not with HCC size and number, or metastasis. As a novel finding, baseline sCD163 appeared to predict a rapid HCC progression, as sCD163 increased during follow-up in HCC patients who showed progression.
肿瘤相关巨噬细胞存在于肝细胞癌（HCC）中，并与预后不良相关。本研究的目的是调查可溶性（s）CD163（一种特定的巨噬细胞激活标志物）在HCC患者中的水平及动态变化。
在一个来自澳大利亚的队列中，我们研究了109例HCC患者、116例慢性肝病（CLD）患者和52例健康对照者。我们检查了基线sCD163与HCC严重程度参数以及总生存期和无进展生存期之间的关联。在一个由42例丹麦HCC患者组成的队列中，我们在基线以及消融治疗后1周、4周和12周测量了sCD163。
在澳大利亚队列中，与对照组（2.0[1.5 - 2.7]mg/L，p < 0.001）相比，HCC患者（5.6[四分位间距3.5 - 8.0]mg/L）和CLD患者（6.1[3.6 - 9.6]mg/L）的sCD163中位数同样升高。在HCC和CLD患者中，sCD163与Child-Pugh评分和终末期肝病模型（MELD）评分相关。sCD163水平高的患者无进展生存期较短（p < 0.001），但总生存期无差异（p = 0.15）。在丹麦队列中，12周时出现HCC进展的患者sCD163升高。在任何队列中，sCD163与HCC大小、数量、血管侵犯或转移均无关联。
我们证实CLD和HCC患者中sCD163水平升高与Child-Pugh评分、MELD评分和门静脉高压相关，但与HCC大小、数量或转移无关。作为一项新发现，基线sCD163似乎可预测HCC快速进展，因为在出现进展的HCC患者随访期间sCD163升高。
