Signature of three novel surrogate markers predicts liver stiffness and fibrosis stages in a cohort of patients with chronic liver disease

Aims: Latest experimental data suggests that placenta growth factor (PLGF), growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) and hepatic growth factor (HGF) are crucial for hepatic fibrogenesis (Hepatology 2011; PLoS One 2011). We now report a novel score of the top-predictive markers, including PLGF, GDF–15 and HGF, for the diagnosis of different degrees of liver stiffness in patients with chronic liver diseases. Patients and Methods: Overall 834 patients were included. Transient elastography (TE) was employed to phenotype patients, who were subsequently subdivided in four different TE classes (0: ≤7.5kPa, 1: >7.5–9.5…