ObjectiveTo explore the predictive value of serum prothrombin induced by vitamin K absence-Ⅱ (PIVKA-Ⅱ) detection for the biological characteristics of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).MethodsThis retrospective study included 394 patients with HBV-related HCC who were newly diagnosed and treated with surgical resection in West China Hospital of Sichuan University between June 2017 and December 2018. Their clinical information such as tumor size, tumor number, tumor cell differentiation, presence of microvascular invasion (MVI), distant metastasis, and portal vein tumor thrombus was collected from the medical record. The laboratory test results of patients during diagnosis and before surgery were collected, including alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), PIVKA-Ⅱ, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transferase (γ-GGT), etc., and the relationships between PIVKA-Ⅱ levels and tumor biological characteristics were analyzed. Non-normal continuous variables were presented as medium (lower quartile, upper quartile).ResultsCompared with the patients with low HCC serum PIVKA-Ⅱ levels (≤40 mAU/mL), patients with high serum PIVKA-Ⅱ levels (>40 mAU/mL) had larger tumor diameters [5.00 (3.00, 9.00) vs. 2.50 (1.63, 4.95) cm, P<0.001], more severe Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage (P<0.001), and higher AFP [186.05 (6.86, 1 210.00) vs. 17.83 (4.33, 231.95) ng/mL, P<0.001], ALT [38.00 (26.00, 66.25) vs. 32.00 (22.00, 51.00) U/L, P=0.018], AST [42.00 (30.00, 76.00) vs. 34.00 (25.50, 48.25) U/L, P<0.001], and γ-GGT [71.00 (39.00, 165.50) vs. 55.50 (25.00, 93.00) U/L, P=0.005], and were more likely to form portal vein tumor thrombi (16.61% vs. 3.75%, P=0.003) and MVI (43.67% vs. 11.11%, P<0.001). In BCLC stage 0 HCC patients, the positive rate of PIVKA-Ⅱ was only 51.35%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that PIVKA-Ⅱ>40 mAU/mL was an independent predictor of MVI [odds ratio=6.588, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.645, 26.383), P=0.008]. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve of PIVKA-Ⅱ level predicting MVI was 0.761 [95%CI (0.693, 0.830)], with a sensitivity of 66.22% and a specificity of 79.06%.ConclusionIn HBV-related HCC patients, high PIVKA-Ⅱ is associated with the poor biological characteristics of tumor, and is an independent risk factor for tumor MVI.
Objective To summarize the online practice teaching experience in laboratory medicine during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, and explore a new practice teaching mode of laboratory medicine which can provide a reference for improving the efficiency and quality of laboratory medicine education. Methods From June 8th, 2020 to June 30th, 2020, an online questionnaire survey was conducted in teachers and students who participated in online internship teaching and learning during the COVID-19 epidemic to evaluate the effect of online internship teaching and compare the advantages and disadvantages of online and offline internships. ResultsA total of 65 valid questionnaires were collected from 35 students and 30 teachers. There was no statistically significant difference in the satisfaction scores of intern students between online and offline internships [median (minimum, maximum): 100 (80, 100) vs. 100 (80, 100), P>0.05]. Among the teachers surveyed, 90.0% thought that the pre-teaching preparation for online internship teaching was more complicated and time-consuming, 60.0% thought that the online teaching was more difficult, and 63.3% thought that online internship could not achieve the expected results. Both the teachers and students believed that online and offline internships had their own advantages and disadvantages, and they could learn from each other. Conclusions The present online practice model cannot replace the traditional offline practice. A diversified practice model combining online and offline can help further develop and improve medical laboratory practice teaching.