International Journal of Hematology and Oncology 2023, Vol 33, Num 4 Page(s): 118-126
Serum Soluble TWEAK Concentration is Decreased in Patients with Hepatocellular Cancer and Low Blood Levels of sTWEAK are Associated with Poor Survival

Mehmet ASIL1, Ramazan DERTLI1

Necmettin Erbakan University, Meram Faculty of Medicine, Department of Gastroenterology, Konya, TURKEY

Keywords: Tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis, Hepatocellular cancer, Survival rate, Mortality
Tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor superfamily and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several cancers. This study was conducted to investigate serum sTWEAK levels and its relation with prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Twenty-eight cirrhotic patients with HCC, 28 patients with cirrhosis and 30 healthy subjects were included in the study. Serum sTWEAK concentrations were measured by using commercially available enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay kits. Mean serum sTWEAK concentrations in HCC, cirrhosis and healthy control groups were 174.0±69.9 pg/ml, 221.4±61.2 pg/ml and 288.0±68.4 pg/ml respectively and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (p< 0.001). Mean sTWEAK concentration in the HCC group was significantly lower than both cirrhosis group (p= 0.009) and healty controls (p< 0.001). In the ROC curve analysis, AUC for serum TWEAK concentration to predict one-year mortality in HCC patients was 0.836 (95% CI: 0.684-0.987) and for the specified cut-off value of 148.1 pg/ml, sensitivity and specificity were 66.7% and 92.3% respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates showed that, survival rate was significantly lower in patients with serum sTWEAK< 148.1 pg/ml (log-rank test, χ2= 11.75, p= 0.001). Serum sTWEAK concentration was identified as an independent predictor of mortality in Cox regression analysis (Hazard ratio= 4.325, 95% CI: 1.080-17.326, p= 0.025). Serum sTWEAK concentration is decreased in HCC patients. Lower serum sTWEAK concentrations at the time of diagnosis are associated with poor prognosis and higher one-year mortality rates in HCC patients.