Serum GP73 predicts posthepatectomy outcomes in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Serum GP73 is a useful biomarker in assessing hepatic fibrosis degree. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of serum GP73 level for posthepatectomy short-term outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. METHODS: A total of 280 patients undergoing liver resection for HCC between October 2015 and April 2018 were included in this study. Detailed preoperative clinicopathological data were collected and GP73 levels in serum obtained the day before hepatectomy were examined. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to calculate the optimal cutoff of GP73, and independent risk factors for postoperative outcomes was assessed by logistic regression model. RESULTS: The mean GP73 level in patients was 111.8 ± 153.3 ng/mL. Serum GP73 levels were correlated with the METAVIR fibrosis score. Overall complications occurred in 145 patients and major complications developed in 29 patients. ROC analysis demonstrated that the predictive power of serum GP73 for postoperative outcomes was greater than the Child–Pugh score, ALBI score, FIB-4 index and APRI score. The optimal value of serum GP73 to predict overall complications and major complications was 80.9 and 79.2 respectively. Serum GP73 levels were independent factors affecting the incidence of overall complications (odds ratio [OR], 3.996; 95% CI 2.152–7.421; P < 0.001) and major complications (OR, 4.970; 95% CI 1.654–14.934; P = 0.004) by multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Serum GP73 is a useful tool to stratify HCC patients and to predict short-term outcomes after hepatectomy. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12967-019-1889-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.