Clinical significance of serum Wisteria floribunda agglutinin positive Mac-2-binding protein level in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

Aim To examine the relationship between the Wisteria floribunda agglutinin positive Mac‐2‐binding protein (WFA+‐M2BP) level and histological findings for patients with non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Methods A total of 134 NASH patients (mean age, 51.7 years) were analyzed. We examined the effect of WFA+‐M2BP level on severity of liver fibrosis comparing with other laboratory markers, including aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio, AST to platelet ratio index (APRI), FIB‐4 index, platelet count and hyaluronic acid as serum liver fibrosis markers. Receiver–operator curve (ROC) analysis was performed for calculating the area under the ROC (AUROC). Results The WFA+‐M2B P‐value ranged from 0.2 cut‐off index (COI) to 9.6 COI (median, 0.9). The median values in each fibrosis stage were: 0.7 COI in F1, 0.7 COI in F2, 1.2 COI in F3 and 2.4 COI in F4 (P