Role of GALAD serological model in the clinical diagnosis of primary hepatocellular carcinoma

Objective To explore the value of GALAD model, including gender, age, AFP, AFP-L3 and DCP in diagnosis of primary hepatocellular carcinoma and prediction of microvascular invasion (MVI). Methods Using retrospective study method, 5 919 patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who received radical operation from January 2015 to December 2018 in Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital were enrolled into study group. At the same time, 1 745 patients with benign liver diseases (BLDs) were enrolled into control group. The concentration of DCP was detected by Lumipulse G1200 automatic immune analyzer, and the concentration of AFP was detected by Cobas e601 automatic immune analyzer. AFP-L3 was detected by affinity adsorption centrifugation. The non-parametric Mann Whitney test was used to compare the difference between two groups. The chi square test was used to compare the rates. The diagnostic value of single serological marker and GALAD model for primary hepatocellular carcinoma was analyzed. The predictive effect of GALAD model on MVI of primary hepatocellular carcinoma was evaluated. Results Compared with single serum marker, the diagnostic value of GALAD model is higher. When the cutoff value is -0.33, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and accuracy reach to 91.9% (5 440/5 919), 86.8% (1 515/1 745) and 90.7% (6 955/7 664), respectively. The area under the curve can reach 0.960 [95%CI (0.955-0.964)]. Compared with no MVI (MO) group, the value of GALAD model in MVI low-risk group (M1), MVI high-risk group (M2) and MVI (M1+2) were significantly higher (Z values were-12.517, -22.883, -21.655, P<0.05), Galad model predicts MVI (M2) in high risk group,AUC was 0.717 [95%CI (0.701-0.733)] (M0 ratio M2). Conclusion GALAD model has better diagnostic performance in primary hepatocellular carcinoma and has certain predictive value for microvascular invasion. Key words: Carcinoma, hepatocellular; Liver neoplasms; Neoplasm invasiveness; Microvessels; alpha-Fetoproteins; Prothrombin