Aims
We aimed to investigate the impact of interleukin (IL)‐34 and YKL‐40, regulators of hepatic fibrosis and tumor growth, on the prognosis of patients with non‐viral hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Methods
We enrolled 159 non‐viral HCC patients (age, 70.8 ± 8.5 years; female/male, 43/116). Of these, 86 patients were alive and 73 patients had died at the censor time point. Serum IL‐34 and YKL‐40 levels were quantified by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Patients were stratified by the median level of serum IL‐34 to examine its effect on survival. Multivariate analysis and random forest analysis were used to evaluate the impact of IL‐34 and YKL‐40 on the prognosis of non‐viral HCC patients.
Results
Interleukin‐34 (hazard ratio [HR] 1.30; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13–1.49; P ≤ 0.01), tumor size (HR 1.63; 95% CI, 1.37–1.94; P ≤ 0.01), and tumor number (HR 1.53; 95% CI, 1.25–1.87; P ≤ 0.01) were independent predictive factors for survival. Furthermore, the survival rates were significantly lower in the high IL‐34 group than in the low IL‐34 group (5‐year survival rates, 34.7% vs. 59.8%, respectively; P < 0.05). In the random forest analysis for survival, IL‐34 was the third‐highest ranking factor, following tumor size and number. In a stratification analysis, serum α‐fetoprotein level and Fibrosis‐4 index were independent positive risk factors for high serum IL‐34 level. YKL‐40 was not associated with prognosis in either the multivariate or random forest analysis.
Conclusion
Interleukin‐34 was an independent factor for survival of non‐viral HCC patients. Interleukin‐34 might be associated with prognosis through tumor and hepatic fibrosis factors.