Prognostic liver signature validated in cohorts of patients with NAFLD, with and without history of hepatocellular carcinoma<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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TUESDAY, July 12, 2022 (HealthDay News) — A 113-gene signature may predict long-term risk for incident hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), according to a study published online June 22 in Science Translational Medicine.<\/em><\/p>\n Naoto Fujiwara, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and colleagues defined and validated hepatic transcriptome and serum secretome signatures predictive of long-term HCC risk in a cohort of 409 patients with NAFLD from multiple global regions.<\/p>\n The researchers found that during 15 years of longitudinal observation, a 113-gene signature, prognostic liver signature (PLS)-NAFLD, predicted incident HCC. In fibrotic portal tracts, high-risk PLS-NAFLD was associated with IDO1+<\/sup> dendritic cells and dysfunctional CD8+<\/sup> T cells, along with impaired metabolic regulators such as fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19), FGF21, and farnesoid X receptor signaling. In independent cohorts of patients with NAFLD who were HCC-naive or HCC-experienced, PLS-NAFLD was validated (HCC incidence rates at 15 years, 22.7 and 0 percent in high- and low-risk patients, respectively; de novo recurrence rates at five years, 71.8 and 42.9 percent in high- and low-risk patients, respectively). PLS-NAFLD was translated bioinformatically into a four-protein secretome signature (PLSec-NAFLD), which was validated in an independent cohort of HCC-naive patients with NAFLD and cirrhosis (HCC incidence rates at 15 years, 37.6 and 0 percent in high- and low-risk patients, respectively).<\/p>\n “This test was especially good at telling us who was in that low-risk group,” a coauthor said in a statement. “We can much more confidently say now that those patients don’t need to be followed very closely.”<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n