Elevated Plasma Osteopontin Levels in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Objectives: Osteopontin (OPN) is a secreted glycoprotein, frequently associated with various tumors. We investigated the usefulness of plasma OPN level as a biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: We determined plasma levels of OPN, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), and prothrombin induced by vitamin K absence II (PIVKA II) in a group of 62 HCC patients, in 60 patients with chronic liver diseases, and in 60 healthy control individuals using a standardized ELISA kit. To determine the source of elevated plasma level of OPN, immunohistochemical analysis of 285 HCC samples on tissue microarray was performed.

Results: Plasma OPN levels in the HCC patients (median 954 ng/mL, range 168-5,742) were significantly higher (p-value < 0.001) than those patients with chronic liver diseases (381 ng/mL, 29-1,688) or of a healthy control group (155 ng/mL, 10-766). Within the HCC patient group, plasma OPN level increased significantly with advancing degree of Child-Pugh class and of tumor stage. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of OPN for HCC was 87% and 82%, respectively (cut-off value: 617.6 ng/mL). OPN had a greater area under curve value (0.898) than AFP (0.745) or PIVKA II (0.578), suggesting superior diagnostic accuracy of OPN. Immunohistochemistry of 285 samples of HCC showed that OPN was expressed in 92 of 285 tumors (32.3%). OPN expression was found in the malignant hepatocytes and cancer-infiltrating macrophages, not in the noncancerous hepatocytes or Kupffer cells.

Conclusions: These data propose elevated plasma OPN levels as a potential biomarker for HCC.