Validation of albumin platelet product as a non-invasive fibrosis staging tool in patients with chronic HCV-related liver disease

Abstract Background and aim: The Albumin Platelet Product (APP) has emerged as a promising non-invasive biomarker for fibrosis staging in chronic liver disease (CLD). This cross-sectional study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of APP compared to established non-invasive markers of fibrosis in an E...

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Main Authors: Maha Elsabaawy, Mohamed Eissa, Ahmed Shaban, Madiha Naguib
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-06-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-07456-x
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author Maha Elsabaawy
Mohamed Eissa
Ahmed Shaban
Madiha Naguib
author_facet Maha Elsabaawy
Mohamed Eissa
Ahmed Shaban
Madiha Naguib
author_sort Maha Elsabaawy
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background and aim: The Albumin Platelet Product (APP) has emerged as a promising non-invasive biomarker for fibrosis staging in chronic liver disease (CLD). This cross-sectional study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of APP compared to established non-invasive markers of fibrosis in an Egyptian cohort with HCV-related CLD. Methods: 580 participants were assessed across different fibrosis stages (F0-F4) to analyze the relationship between APP and liver fibrosis. APP was compared with FIB-4 and APRI scores for diagnostic performance. Results: The study included 580 patients with HCV-related CLD (mean age: 37.6 ± 9.66 years; 74.3% males). APP proved superiority in identifying liver cirrhosis (F4) at Cut-off values ≤ 0.59 with 81% sensitivity, 63.6% specificity (p < 0.001). APP showed a significant correlation with fibrosis stages, with an AUC of 0.920 (95% CI: 0.888–0.953) for distinguishing F4 from F0-F3 surpassing both FIB4 and APRI scores. However, FIB-4 proved superiority in distinguishing advanced fibrosis (F ≥ 3) with AUC of 0.899 (95% CI: 0.871–0.927) compared to APP with AUC of 0.87 (95% CI: 0.84–0.90), respectively. Multivariate analysis confirmed APP as an independent predictor of fibrosis (OR: 0.997, 95% CI: 0.995–0.998; p < 0.001). Conclusion: APP showed the highest performance in predicting cirrhosis, suggesting its potential as a simple, non-invasive marker for identifying patients with advanced liver disease. Its integration into clinical practice may enhance early detection and risk stratification in chronic HCV-related fibrosis. However, further multicenter, longitudinal studies are required to validate its efficacy across diverse populations and other liver disease etiologies.
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spelling doaj-art-3199f85b98af4192b9fb533d397dc9e12025-08-20T03:31:41ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-06-011511910.1038/s41598-025-07456-xValidation of albumin platelet product as a non-invasive fibrosis staging tool in patients with chronic HCV-related liver diseaseMaha Elsabaawy0Mohamed Eissa1Ahmed Shaban2Madiha Naguib3Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, National Liver Institute, Menoufia UniversityDepartment of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, National Liver Institute, Menoufia UniversityDepartment of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, National Liver Institute, Menoufia UniversityDepartment of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, National Liver Institute, Menoufia UniversityAbstract Background and aim: The Albumin Platelet Product (APP) has emerged as a promising non-invasive biomarker for fibrosis staging in chronic liver disease (CLD). This cross-sectional study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of APP compared to established non-invasive markers of fibrosis in an Egyptian cohort with HCV-related CLD. Methods: 580 participants were assessed across different fibrosis stages (F0-F4) to analyze the relationship between APP and liver fibrosis. APP was compared with FIB-4 and APRI scores for diagnostic performance. Results: The study included 580 patients with HCV-related CLD (mean age: 37.6 ± 9.66 years; 74.3% males). APP proved superiority in identifying liver cirrhosis (F4) at Cut-off values ≤ 0.59 with 81% sensitivity, 63.6% specificity (p < 0.001). APP showed a significant correlation with fibrosis stages, with an AUC of 0.920 (95% CI: 0.888–0.953) for distinguishing F4 from F0-F3 surpassing both FIB4 and APRI scores. However, FIB-4 proved superiority in distinguishing advanced fibrosis (F ≥ 3) with AUC of 0.899 (95% CI: 0.871–0.927) compared to APP with AUC of 0.87 (95% CI: 0.84–0.90), respectively. Multivariate analysis confirmed APP as an independent predictor of fibrosis (OR: 0.997, 95% CI: 0.995–0.998; p < 0.001). Conclusion: APP showed the highest performance in predicting cirrhosis, suggesting its potential as a simple, non-invasive marker for identifying patients with advanced liver disease. Its integration into clinical practice may enhance early detection and risk stratification in chronic HCV-related fibrosis. However, further multicenter, longitudinal studies are required to validate its efficacy across diverse populations and other liver disease etiologies.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-07456-xAlbumin platelet product (APP)FibrosisHepatitis C virus (HCV)Non-invasive fibrosis markers
spellingShingle Maha Elsabaawy
Mohamed Eissa
Ahmed Shaban
Madiha Naguib
Validation of albumin platelet product as a non-invasive fibrosis staging tool in patients with chronic HCV-related liver disease
Scientific Reports
Albumin platelet product (APP)
Fibrosis
Hepatitis C virus (HCV)
Non-invasive fibrosis markers
title Validation of albumin platelet product as a non-invasive fibrosis staging tool in patients with chronic HCV-related liver disease
title_full Validation of albumin platelet product as a non-invasive fibrosis staging tool in patients with chronic HCV-related liver disease
title_fullStr Validation of albumin platelet product as a non-invasive fibrosis staging tool in patients with chronic HCV-related liver disease
title_full_unstemmed Validation of albumin platelet product as a non-invasive fibrosis staging tool in patients with chronic HCV-related liver disease
title_short Validation of albumin platelet product as a non-invasive fibrosis staging tool in patients with chronic HCV-related liver disease
title_sort validation of albumin platelet product as a non invasive fibrosis staging tool in patients with chronic hcv related liver disease
topic Albumin platelet product (APP)
Fibrosis
Hepatitis C virus (HCV)
Non-invasive fibrosis markers
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-07456-x
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AT ahmedshaban validationofalbuminplateletproductasanoninvasivefibrosisstagingtoolinpatientswithchronichcvrelatedliverdisease
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