Serum Golgi Protein 73 as a Predictor of Virologic Response to Entecavir Antiviral Therapy in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B and Liver Fibrosis: A Retrospective Study.

PURPOSE: Golgi protein 73 (GP73) facilitates hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication, and it is associated with persistent infection in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). However, the predictive value of serum GP73 (sGP73) for virologic response (VR) remains unexplored. This study evaluated the value of sGP73 in predicting VR in patients with CHB and liver fibrosis during initial antiviral therapy with entecavir (ETV).

METHODS

In total, 235 patients with CHB and liver fibrosis were included in this retrospective cohort study. The patients received antiviral therapy with ETV for 48 weeks, and sGP73 levels and virologic markers were examined every 12 weeks for 48 weeks. The performance of sGP73 for VR was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve method.

FINDINGS: Patients who achieved VR at 48 weeks exhibited significantly lower baseline sGP73. Correlation analysis revealed significant positive associations of baseline sGP73 with HBV DNA and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). Using a cutoff of 105.9 ng/mL, patients with baseline sGP73 ≤ 105.9 ng/mL had a significantly higher cumulative VR rate. In the performance evaluation of sGP73 in predicting VR at 48 weeks, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.770 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.711-0.822), which was higher than that for ALT (AUC = 0.624; 95% CI = 0.558-0.687) and HBV DNA (AUC = 0.626; 95% CI = 0.559-0.688).

IMPLICATIONS: This study demonstrated the predictive value of sGP73 for VR, suggesting its potential as a novel biomarker for predicting VR in patients with CHB. The correlation between changes in GP73 and HBV DNA levels may be related to inflammation.