Serum metabolites may be useful markers to assess vascular invasion and identify normal alpha-fetoprotein in hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing liver resection: a pilot study

Table 3 Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) observed serum metabolites with intensity differences associated with different AFP for hepatocellular carcinoma

Metabolites	AFP < 15 ng/ml	AFP ≥ 15 ng/ml	P value^a
Investigation cohort (n= 35)
Glycine	26.128 ± 2.83	18.627 ± 1.09	0.006
O-Acetylcarnitine	0.600 ± 0.08	0.374 ± 0.11	0.025
Histidine	6.597 ± 0.36	5.532 ± 0.37	0.062
Ornithine	9.263 ± 1.05	7.065 ± 0.58	0.073
Validation cohort (n= 22)
Glycine	26.810 ± 1.33	27.195 ± 2.19	0.752
O-Acetylcarnitine	0.958 ± 0.09	0.687 ± 0.08	0.032
Histidine	7.303 ± 0.32	6.070 ± 0.55	0.153
Ornithine	10.504 ± 0.86	9.061 ± 0.75	0.215

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