Chitotriosidase activity in different stages of hepatitis C. It may a possible tumor marker for hepatocellular carcinoma

摘要

Chitotriosidase is synthesized and secreted especially in activated macrophages. The aim of this study was to evaluate chitotriosidase activity in patients with various stages of hepatitis C. The study included a total of 90 patients. The patients were divided into four groups. Group 1 included 54 patients with chronic active hepatitis, Group 2 included 20 patients with recovered HCV, Group 3 included 6 patients with HCV induced hepatocellular carcinoma, and Group 4 included 10 patients with HCV cirrhosis. Chitotriosidase activity was measured with spectrophotometry (SigmaAldrich ). The mean chitotriosidase activity of the four groups was 0,927u/L (0.804u/L in Group 1, 0.521u/L in Group 2, 3.211u/L in Group 3 and 1.030u/L in Group 4). Chitotriosidase activity was significantly higher in Group 3. ROC analysis, used to evaluate chitotriosidase activity for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma, showed that chitotriosidase activity of 0,935 was below the curve (CI: 95%; 0,862 - 0,976), which was statistically significant (p= 0,0001). The cut-off value was >1,098 with a sensitivity of 100% and a specifity of 81%. Chitotriosidase activity can be a marker with a high sensitivity and specifity for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.