Optimization and robustness of blood tests for liver fibrosis and cirrhosis.

Calès P, Boursier J, Bertrais S, Oberti F, Gallois Y

Abstract

Objectives

To optimize the performance and feasibility of fibrosis blood tests and evaluate their robustness.

Design And Methods

The derivation population included 1056 HCV patients with liver biopsy and blood markers. Validation populations included 984 patients with various viral hepatitis causes, and Fibroscan and/or liver biopsy and/or blood markers.

Results

The bootstrap method validated the markers of the original FibroMeter(2G), but not those of Fibrotest and Hepascore, and provided a hyaluronate-free FibroMeter(3G). AUROCs for significant fibrosis were: FibroMeter(2G): 0.853 vs. FibroMeter(3G): 0.851, p=0.489. Compared to FibroMeter(2G), FibroMeter(3G) had a significantly higher patient rate with predictive values ≥90% for significant fibrosis. Accuracy for fibrosis stage classification was: Fibrotest: 37.9%, FibroMeter(2G): 74.9%, and FibroMeter(3G): 86.9% (p<10(-3)).

Conclusion

The bootstrap method validated FibroMeter(2G) and provided a cheaper and more feasible hyaluronate-free FibroMeter(3G) with comparable performance. Compared to binary diagnosis, fibrosis stage classification increased discrimination, with an increased accuracy to 87% for FibroMeter(3G).

MeSH — NLM indexing Area Under Curve Biomarkers / blood HIV Infections / blood HIV Infections / complications Hematologic Tests / methods Hepatitis C / blood Hepatitis C / complications Humans Liver Cirrhosis / blood Liver Cirrhosis / classification Liver Cirrhosis / diagnosis ROC Curve Reproducibility of Results Sensitivity and Specificity