ArticlePloS one2015
Association of serum level of growth differentiation factor 15 with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 63 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
63 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 104 citations in OpenAlex.
- Appraising growth differentiation factor 15 as a promising biomarker in digestive system tumors: a meta-analysis.BMC cancer · 2019Pooled it
- Association of macrophage inhibitory factor -1 polymorphisms with antiviral efficacy of type 1b chronic hepatitis C.Molecular and cellular biochemistry · 2021Trial
- Clinical application of thioredoxin reductase as a novel biomarker in liver cancer.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Growth Differentiation Factor-15 Could Predict Decreased Hemoglobin in Tuberculosis Treated With Linezolid-Containing Regimen.The clinical respiratory journal · 2026Article
- GDF-15 Levels in Cirrhosis Are Linked to Hepatic Fibrogenesis, Bacterial Translocation, and Worse Clinical Outcomes.Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2026Article
- Growth differentiation factor 15: from stress response to clinical utility in chronic liver diseases.Journal of gastroenterology · 2026Review
- GDF15 as a sentinel of metabolic integrity: a narrative review of stress signaling, multisystem pathophysiology, and therapeutic potential.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Review
- Macrophage inhibitory cytokine 1, syncollin and thrombospondin-2 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and chronic pancreatitis differentiation.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Review
- Mitochondrial dysfunction in hepatocellular carcinoma: from metabolism to targeted therapies.Molecular and cellular biochemistry · 2025Review
- Metabolic Messenger: growth differentiation factor 15.Nature metabolism · 2025Review
- The Multifaceted Role of Growth Differentiation Factor 15 (GDF15): A Narrative Review from Cancer Cachexia to Target Therapy.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Desensitizing Effect of Intra-Tumoral GDF-15 on Immunotherapy in Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.Thoracic cancer · 2025Article
- Comprehensive analysis of GDFs as therapeutic targets and prognosis biomarkers in gastric cancer.Medicine · 2025Article
- GDF15 Circulating Levels Are Associated with Metabolic-Associated Liver Injury and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Review
- Serum GDF15 level as predictive biomarker of clinical outcome in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma treated with hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- A method of quantitative chemiluminescence immunoassay for the concentration of Growth differentiation factor-15.MethodsX · 2024Article
- Development of machine learning-based predictors for early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Beneficial Effects of Low-Grade Mitochondrial Stress on Metabolic Diseases and Aging.Yonsei medical journal · 2024Review
3 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver cirrhosis are associated with high mortality worldwide. Currently, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is used as a standard serum marker for the detection of HCC, but its sensitivity and specificity are unsatisfactory, and optimal diagnostic markers for cirrhosis are lacking. We previously reported that growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) was significantly induced in HCV-infected hepatocytes. This study aimed to investigate GDF15 expression and its correlation with hepatitis virus-related liver diseases. A total of 412 patients with various liver diseases were studied. Healthy and Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected subjects were included as controls. Serum and tissue GDF15 levels were measured. Serum GDF15 levels were significantly increased in patients with HCC (6.66±0.67 ng/mL, p<0.0001) and cirrhosis (6.51±1.47 ng/mL, p<0.0001) compared with healthy controls (0.31±0.01 ng/mL), though the GDF15 levels in HBV and HCV carriers were moderately elevated (1.34±0.19 ng/mL and 2.13±0.53 ng/mL, respectively). Compared with HBV or HCV carriers, GDF15 had a sensitivity of 63.1% and a specificity of 86.6% at the optimal cut-off point of 2.463 ng/mL in patients with liver cirrhosis or HCC. In HCC patients, the area under the receiver operating curve was 0.84 for GDF15 and 0.76 for AFP, but 0.91 for the combined GDF15 and AFP. Serum GDF15 levels did not significantly differ between the high-AFP and low-AFP groups. GDF15 protein expression in HCC was significantly higher than that in the corresponding adjacent paracarcinomatous tissue and normal liver. Using a combination of GDF15 and AFP will improve the sensitivity and specificity of HCC diagnosis. Further research and the clinical implementation of serum GDF15 measurement as a biomarker for HCC and cirrhosis are recommended.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.