Abstract: Objective To explore the changes of Golgi protein 73 (GP73) and hepcidin (Hepc) levels in the serum of hepatitis B-related liver cancer patients and their correlation with the patients’ prognosis. Methods Ninety-eight patients with hepatitis B-related liver cancer admitted between September 2017 to September 2018 were enrolled in this study as the research group. Ninety-two healthy examined people during the same time period were collected as the control group. Serum GP73 and Hepc levels were compared between the research and the control groups, and between the death and survival patients with hepatitis B-related liver cancer. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the risk factors affecting the patients’ survival. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was drawn for analyzing the efficacy of serum GP73 and Hepc levels in predicting the prognosis of patients with hepatitis B-related liver cancer. Results Serum GP73 and Hepc levels in the study group were (204.7±10.3) ng/mL and (128.3±12.6) μg/L, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the control group [(38.1±6.7) ng/mL and (77.9±9.5) μg/ L, respectively] (P<0.05). After 2 years of follow-up, the mortality of patients with hepatitis B-related liver cancer was 28.4%. The serum GP73 and Hepc levels of dead patients were (261.6±12.7) ng/mL and (165.8±13.2) μg/L,respectively, which were significantly higher than those of surviving patients [(182.5±5.9) ng/mL and (113.1±10.4) μg/L, respectively] (P<0.05). Logistic multivariate analysis showed that TNM stage III-IV, high serum levels of GP73 and Hepc were all independent risk factors affecting the survival of patients with hepatitis B-related liver cancer (OR=2.570, 1.984, 2.121, all P<0.05). ROC analysis showed that the best cut-off points of serum GP73 and Hepc levels for predicting death of hepatitis B-related liver cancer patients were 25.3 ng/mL and 130.0 μg/L, respectively. The sensitivity were 70.4%, 88.9%, and the specificity were 89.7%, 72.1%, respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) were 0.887 (95%CI: 0.805~0.943) and 0.883 (95%CI: 0.801~0.940). Conclusion Serum GP73 and Hepc levels in patients with hepatitis B-related liver cancer are abnormally elevated. TNM stages III to IV, high levels of GP73 and Hepc are independent risk factors that affect the survival of patients with hepatitis B-related liver cancer.

Key words: Hepatitis B related liver cancer, Hepatitis B, Golgi protein 73, Hepcidin, Prognosis