Gut Liver.  2017 Mar;11(2):276-282. 10.5009/gnl16049.

Growth Differentiation Factor 15 Predicts Chronic Liver Disease Severity

• Lee ES
• Kim SH
• Kim HJ
• Kim KH
• Lee BS
• Ku BJ

• KMID: 2412195
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5009/gnl16049

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) belongs to the transforming growth factor-β superfamily. GDF-15 is emerging as a biomarker for several diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical performances of GDF-15 for the prediction of liver fibrosis and severity in chronic liver disease.
METHODS
The serum GDF-15 levels were examined via enzyme immunoassay in 145 patients with chronic liver disease and 101 healthy individuals. The patients with chronic liver disease consisted of 54 patients with chronic hepatitis, 44 patients with compensated liver cirrhosis, and 47 patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis.
RESULTS
Of the patients with chronic liver diseases, the decompensated liver cirrhosis patients had an increased serum GDF-15 (3,483 ng/L) level compared with the patients with compensated liver cirrhosis (1,861 ng/L) and chronic hepatitis (1,232 ng/L). The overall diagnostic accuracies of GDF-15, as determined by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves, were as follows: chronic hepatitis=0.656 (>574 ng/L, sensitivity, 53.7%; specificity, 79.2%), compensated liver cirrhosis=0.886 (>760 ng/L, sensitivity, 75.6%; specificity, 92.1%), and decompensated liver cirrhosis=0.984 (>869 ng/L, sensitivity, 97.9%; specificity, 94.1%).
CONCLUSIONS
This investigation represents the first study to demonstrate the availability of GDF-15 in chronic liver disease. GDF-15 comprised a useful biomarker for the prediction of liver fibrosis and severity in chronic liver disease.

Keyword

Chronic liver disease; Decompensated liver cirrhosis; Fibrosis; Growth differentiation factor 15; Biomarkers

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Biomarkers/blood
Case-Control Studies
End Stage Liver Disease/*blood
Female
Growth Differentiation Factor 15/*blood
Humans
Liver Cirrhosis/*blood
Male
Middle Aged
ROC Curve
Sensitivity and Specificity
*Severity of Illness Index
Biomarkers
Growth Differentiation Factor 15