Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein: A novel non-invasive marker for assessing cirrhosis and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the patients (n = 187)

Sex (male/female), n (%)	95 (50.8%)/92 (49.2%)
Age (yr), mean ± SD	53.7 ± 15.2
HBV/HCV/PBC/AIH/ALD, n	72/75/22/7/11
Duration of follow-up (mo), median (IQR)	96.5 (102)
INR, median (IQR), (normal range: 0.85-1.15)	1.04 (0.24)
Platelets (× 103/μL), median (IQR), (normal range: 140-440)	190 (116)
AST (U/L), median (IQR), (UNL: 40 U/L)	38 (45)
ALT (U/L), median (IQR), (UNL: 40 U/L)	40 (46)
γ-GT (U/L), median (IQR), (UNL: 37 U/L)	33 (52)
ALP (U/L), median (IQR), (UNL: 104 U/L)	90 (74)
Bilirubin (mg/dL), median (IQR), (UNL: 1.1 mg/dL)	0.8 (0.8)
Albumin (g/dL), median (IQR), (normal range: 3.5-5.2 g/dL)	4.3 (1.0)
IgG (mg/dL), mean ± SD, (UNL: 1650 mg/dL)	1583 ± 508
IgM (mg/dL), median (IQR), (UNL: 200 mg/dL)	135 (147)
IgA (mg/dL), mean ± SD, (UNL: 300 mg/dL)	312 ± 192
AFP (ng/mL), median (IQR), (UNL: 10 ng/mL)	4.6 (6.4)
Cirrhosis (yes/no), n (%)	98 (52.4%)/89 (47.6%)
Decompensation of cirrhosis1 (yes/no), n (%)	27 (27.6%)/71 (72.4%)
HCC (yes/no), n (%)	12 (6.4%)/175 (93.6%)
Histological grade (none/minimal/mild vs moderate/severe), n (%)	61 (55.5%)/49 (44.5%)
Histological stage (none/minimal/mild vs moderate/severe/cirrhosis), n (%)	62 (56.4%)/48 (43.6%)

¹Decompensation of cirrhosis denotes the development of at least one of the following: variceal bleeding, hepatic encephalopathy or ascites. n: Number of patients in each respective group; SD: Standard deviation; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; PBC: Primary biliary cirrhosis; AIH: Autoimmune hepatitis; ALD: Alcoholic liver disease; INR: International normalized ratio; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; UNL: Upper normal limit; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; γ-GT: γ-glutamyl transpeptidase; ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; IgG: Immunoglobulin G; IgM: Immunoglobulin M; IgA: Immunoglobulin A; AFP: Alpha fetoprotein; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma.

Table 2 Demographic, clinical, laboratory and histological baseline characteristics of 187 patients according to cartilage oligomeric matrix protein antigen positivity

	COMP-positive (n = 52)	COMP-negative (n = 135)	P value
Sex (male/female), n (%)	26/26 (50%/50%)	69/66 (51.1%/48.9%)	1.000
Age (yr), mean ± SD	61.7 ± 11.9	50.9 ± 15.3	< 0.001
Duration of follow-up (mo)	45 (91)	107 (95)	< 0.01
INR	1.15 (0.22)	1 (0.17)	0.002
Platelets (× 103/μL)	166 (125)	199 (104)	0.008
AST (U/L)	59 (57)	31 (33)	< 0.001
ALT (U/L)	46 (50)	38 (39)	< 0.02
γ-GT (U/L)	50 (65)	27 (48)	0.003
ALP (U/L)	115 (102)	83 (63)	0.001
Bilirubin (mg/dL)	1.1 (1.5)	0.7 (0.6)	< 0.05
Albumin (g/dL)	3.9 (1)	4.4 (1)	< 0.001
IgG (mg/dL), mean ± SD	1724 ± 614	1533 ± 461	0.151
IgM (mg/dL)	134 (180)	135 (120)	0.265
IgA (mg/dL), mean ± SD	359 ± 196	295 ± 190	0.196
AFP (ng/mL)	6.9 (10.5)	3.8 (5.5)	< 0.02
Cirrhosis (yes/no), n (%)	43/9 (82.7%/17.3%)	55/80 (40.7%/59.3%)	< 0.001
Decompensation of cirrhosis1 (yes/no), n (%)	11/32 (25.6%/74.4%)	16/39 (29.1%/70.9%)	0.874
HCC (yes/no), n (%)	7/45 (13.5%/86.5%)	5/130 (3.7%/96.3%)	< 0.05
Histological grade (none/minimal/mild vs moderate/severe), n (%)	5/17 (22.7%/77.3%)	56/32 (63.6%/36.4%)	0.001
Histological stage (none/minimal/mild vs moderate/severe/cirrhosis), n (%)	5/17 (22.7%/77.3%)	57/31 (64.8%/35.2%)	0.001

¹Decompensation of cirrhosis denotes the development of at least one of the following: variceal bleeding, hepatic encephalopathy or ascites. Data are present as median (interquartile range) unless other indicated; n: Number of patients in each respective group; COMP: Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein; SD: Standard deviation; INR: International normalized ratio; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; γ-GT: γ-glutamyl transpeptidase; ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; IgG: Immunoglobulin G; IgM: Immunoglobulin M; IgA: Immunoglobulin A; AFP: Alpha fetoprotein; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma.