serum fibroblast growth factor 19 as a biomarker in hepatitis b virus-related liver disease

Background: past research has found that fibroblast growth factor 19 (fgf19) is associated with several hepatic disorders, such as alcoholic liver disease and primary biliary cirrhosis. however, there is currently a lack of relevant studies on the relationship between fgf19 and hepatitis b virus (hbv)-related liver disease. objectives: this study aimed to assess the role of serum fgf19 as a new biomarker for hbv-related liver disease and provide scientific data to show the clinical value of this biomarker. methods: a retrospective study included 37 patients with chronic hepatitis b (chb), 33 patients with hbv-related cirrhosis (hbv-cirrhosis), and 32 patients with hbv-related hepatocellular carcinoma (hbv-hcc). furthermore, 33 normal people were randomly selected as healthy controls. the serum levels of fgf19 were measured by elisa. results: serum fgf19 levels were increased sequentially in the chb group, hbv-cirrhosis group, and hbv-hcc group. furthermore, serum fgf19 levels positively correlated with alpha-fetoprotein, prothrombin time, international normalized ratio, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl-transferase, alkaline phosphatase, total bile acid, serum markers for liver fibrosis, ascites, cirrhosis, child-pugh classification and model for end-stage liver disease sodium (meld-na) score, while negatively correlated with platelet count, prothrombin activity, and albumin. the diagnostic threshold of serum fgf19 for hbv-related hcc was 165.32 pg/ml, with a sensitivity of 81.25% and specificity of 58.57%. conclusions: serum fgf19 levels are positively associated with cholestasis, hepatocyte damage, and liver fibrosis but negatively correlated with liver synthetic function and liver functional reserve in hbv-related liver disease. diverse changes in serum fgf19 may be used as a predictive marker for the progression of hbv-related liver disease. in addition, serum fgf19 has a potential role in monitoring carcinogenesis in patients with hbv-related liver disease.