Soluble Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 as a Predictive Factor for Progression of Illness in Chronic Liver Diseases and Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Angiogenesis is generally induced in the process of necro-inflammation and regeneration in chronic liver diseases (CLD). Whereas VEGF is a major humoral factor in relation to neo-vascularization, the receptor, VEGFR-2, is located in hepatocytes and sinusoid endothelial cells. The aim in this study is to investigate the significance of soluble form of VEGFR-2 (sVEGFR-2) in various CLDs. A cross sectional study was conducted from 2010 to 2013 at Dr. Sardjito Hospital Yogyakarta, Indonesia. 149 patients with chronic hepatitis (CH), liver cirrhosis (LC) or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were enrolled in this study. sVEGFR-2 serum was examined using Quantikine®HS kit human immunoassay. Data were analyses by STATA (P value <0.05). The median of sVEGFR-2 was decreased according to the disease progression (LC: 7014.95 pg/mL; CH: 8805.15 pg/mL; healthy subject: 9785.2 pg/mL). However, sVEGFR-2 in HCC (8043.73 pg/mL) was significantly higher than that in LC (P= 0.0059). Based on AUROC analyses, the clinical cut-off point of sVEGFR-2 with >80% sensitivity was used (CH-LC ≤7236.7, LC-HCC ≥7215). The odds ratio (OR) LC to HCC was 5.87 and CH to LC was 4.63. The significant correlations were showed significantly between sVEGFR-2 with MELD and ALT in LC, and with APRI and FIB-4 in CH. In conclusion, the serum sVEGFR-2 could be used as a predictive factor progressing CH to LC, but not HCC.