Abstract: Objective To investigate the relationship between serum urothelial carcinoma-associated 1 (UCA1) and WD repeat-containing antisense to TP53 (WRAP53) levels and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC. Methods A total of 82 patients with HBV-related HCC treated at the Oncology Department of Lezhi County People′s Hospital from June 2022 to March 2024 were selected as the observation group, and 80 chronic HBV-infected patients during the same period were selected as the control group. Serum UCA1 and WRAP53 levels were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Binary logistic regression analysis of risk factors for HCC occurrence in chronic HBV-infected patients. The diagnostic value of UCA1 and WRAP53 for HBV-related HCC was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). Results The serum UCA1 and WRAP53 expression levels in the observation group were (2.42±0.72) and (3.16±1.07), respectively, which were higher than those in the control group ((1.25±0.37) and (1.18±0.31)). The differences were statistically significant (t=13.054, 16.079, both P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that elevated UCA1 and WRAP53 levels were independent risk factors for HCC in chronic HBV patients. ROC curve analysis showed that the sensitivity and specificity of UCA1 and WRAP53 in diagnosing HCC were 84.1% and 88.7%, and 90.2% and 96.3%, respectively, with AUROC values of 0.921 and 0.930. This indicated a high diagnostic accuracy. When UCA1 and WRAP53 were combined, the sensitivity and specificity were 93.9% and 98.8%, respectively, and the AUROC was 0.980, indicating a higher diagnostic performance. Conclusion The serum levels of UCA1 and WRAP53 in patients with HBV-related HCC were significantly elevated. These biomarkers can serve as potential diagnostic tools for HBV-related HCC, with high diagnostic value.

Key words: Hepatitis B virus, Hepatocellular carcinoma, UCA1, WRAP53, Biomarkers