Abstract: Objective To evaluate the clinical value of serum interleukin-34 (IL-34) levels in evaluating the prognosis of patients with non-viral hepatocellular carcinoma patients (HCC).Methods One hundred patients with non-viral HCC (non-viral HCC group) and 100 healthy subjects (control group) in our hospital from March 2013 to March 2014 were enrolled. Serum IL-34 levels were assessed by ELISA.Results Serum IL-34 levels in the non-viral HCC group [(15.89±6.21) pg/mL] were significantly higher than those in the control group [(3.03±0.83) pg/mL, t=22.122, P<0.001]. Platelet (PLT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin, alpha fetoprotein (AFP), Child-Pugh Score, tumor size, tumor stage were positively correlated with serum IL-34 levels. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of serum IL-34 levels for discriminating patients with non-viral HCC was 0.889 (P<0.001, 95% CI 0.820-0.958, sensitivity 82.98%, specificity 92.45%) ,with the cut-off value of 8.87 pg/mL. The survival rates of high IL-34 (>8.87 pg/mL, n=41) and low IL-34 (< 8.87 pg/mL, n=59) were statistically different (χ²=14.360, P=0.002). AFP, tumor size, tumor stage and serum IL-34 level were independent prognostic risk factors for non-viral HCC by Cox proportional hazard model.Conclusion Serum IL-34 level is an independent prognostic factor for non-viral HCC, which may be associated with the prognosis of non-viral HCC.

Key words: Interleukin-34, Prognosis, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Non-B,non-C hepatitis virus