Serum Peroxiredoxin3 is a Useful Biomarker for Early Diagnosis and Assessemnt of Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Chinese Patients

Background: Recently, peroxiredoxin3 (PRDX3) was identified as a novel molecular marker for the progressionof hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its potential clinical application as a serum marker for the earlydiagnosis and prognosis of HCC has not been investigated.
Methods: PRDX3, alpha-fetaprotein (AFP), and otherbiochemical parameters were measured in serum samples from 297 Chinese patients, including 96 with HCC,98 with liver cirrhosis (LC), and 103 healthy controls (HCs). Correlations between serum PRDX3 expressionand clinicopathological variables and the relationship between serum PRDX3 expression and prognosis wereanalyzed.
Results: Serum PRDX3 was significantly higher in HCC patients than in the LC and HC groups.The sensitivity and specificity of serum PRDX3 for the diagnosis of HCC were 85.9% and 75.3%, respectively,at a cutoff of 153.26 ng/mL, and the area under the curve was 0.865. Moreover, serum PRDX3 expression wasstrongly associated with AFP level, tumor diameter, TNM stage, and portal vein invasion. Kaplan-Meier curveanalysis revealed that HCC patients with high serum PRDX3 expression had a shorter median survival timethan those with low PRDX3 expression. Moreover, serum PRDX3 expression was an independent risk factorfor overall survival. The inverse correlation between serum PRDX3 and patient survival remained significantin patients with early-stage HCC and in those with normal serum AFP levels.
Conclusions: Serum PRDX3 canbe used as a noninvasive biomarker for the diagnosis and/or prognosis of HCC.