Search

Aim Chronic liver insufficiency is often associated with changes in amino acid metabolism. We evaluated whether change in serum amino acid concentrations had prognostic value among patients with liver cirrhosis. Methods This retrospective study evaluated 158 patients who had been hospitalized with cirrhosis. Baseline serum concentrations of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and tyrosine, as well as the BCAA-to-tyrosine ratio (BTR), were evaluated. Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to calculate the hazard ratios (HRs) for factors that were associated with mortality or liver transplantation. Results Among the 158 patients, baseline measurements revealed decreased serum BCAA concentrations for 59 patients (37.3%), elevated serum tyrosine concentrations for 80 patients (50.6%), and a decreased BTR for 114 patients (72.2%). During a median follow-up of 3.0 years, death or liver transplantation occurred at a rate of 0.136 cases/1 person-year. Multivariable analysis revealed that transplant-free survival was independently predicted by older age, male sex, comorbid hepatocellular carcinoma, Child-Turcotte-Pugh score, and serum tyrosine concentration. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that a serum tyrosine concentration of >110 µmol/L was the optimal cut-off value for predicting transplant-free survival (adjusted HR: 1.89, 95% confidence interval: 1.15-3.11, P = 0.012). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed a significant difference in the 5-year transplant-free survival probability between patients with high and low serum tyrosine concentrations (42.1% vs. 60.7%, P Conclusions Elevated serum tyrosine concentration, but not changes in serum BCAA concentration or the BTR, may indicate a high risk of death or liver transplantation for patients with liver cirrhosis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

BACKGROUND AND AIM Aldo-keto reductase family 1 member B10 (AKR1B10), a cancer-related oxidoreductase, was recently reported to be upregulated in some chronic liver diseases. However, its relevance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development is not fully assessed, especially in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. METHODS Aldo-keto reductase family 1 member B10 expression in the liver of 550 patients with chronic HCV infection was immunohistochemically assessed and quantified. A multivariate Cox model was used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) of AKR1B10 expression for HCC development, and the cumulative incidence of HCC was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS Aldo-keto reductase family 1 member B10 expression in the patients ranged from 0% to 80%. During the median follow-up of 3.2 years, 43 of 550 patients developed HCC. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that high AKR1B10 expression (≥6%) was an independent risk factor for HCC (HR, 6.43; 95% confidence interval, 2.90-14.25; P

Aim Recent reports have indicated that aldo-keto reductase family 1 member B10 (AKR1B10), a cancer-related oxidoreductase, was upregulated in some chronic liver diseases. However, few studies have reported AKR1B10 expression in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected patients. The aim of the present study was to analyze AKR1B10 expression and its relevance on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development in patients with chronic HBV infection. Methods Expression of AKR1B10 in the liver of 119 chronic HBV-infected patients was assessed and quantified immunohistochemically. A multivariate Cox model was used to estimate the hazard ratios of AKR1B10 expression for HCC development. The cumulative incidences of HCC were evaluated using Kaplan–Meier analysis. Results Expression of AKR1B10 in the study cohort ranged from 0% to 84%. During the median follow-up time (6.2 years), 13 patients developed HCC. Multivariate analysis revealed that high AKR1B10 expression (≥15%) was an independent risk factor for HCC (hazard ratio, 10.8; 95% confidence interval, 3.0–38.6; P