Study on the Value of Oligosaccharide Chain and Alpha-fetoprotein for Risk Screening and Diagnosis of Hepatitis B Virus-related Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the main pathological type of primary liver cancer (PLC) and is closely associated with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. HCC in its early stages often presents no significant symptoms and is usually discovered at an advanced stage with liver, portal vein, or other site metastases, leading to a poor prognosis. Regular screening and early diagnosis in high-risk populations in the early stages of the disease are of great significance for clinical treatment and prognosis. Objective To explore the application value of oligosaccharides and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in the risk population and patients of HBV-related HCC, providing a reference for clinical diagnosis. Methods The study included 165 chronic HBV infection patients treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from January to November 2022, comprising 123 non-HCC and 42 HCC patients. Patient data (age, gender, cirrhosis status), laboratory indices[total bilirubin (TB), albumin (ALB), platelet count (PLT), AFP]were collected through electronic medical records, and a liver cancer risk prediction model score for chronic liver disease patients (aMAP score) was calculated, along with oligosaccharide marker test results (G-Test). HCC patients were classified as the HCC group (42 cases), and non-HCC patients were divided based on aMAP scores into low-risk (60 points, 39 cases) groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to analyze the efficacy of AFP, G-Test, and their combined diagnosis of HCC, calculating the area under the ROC curve (AUC), and the DeLong test was used to compare the differences between combined and single indicator AUCs. Kappa consistency tests were used to analyze the consistency of AFP and G-Test with clinical diagnostic results. Results In patients with HCC, levels of AFP and G-Test were higher compared to those in the low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk groups (P