Quantification of serum purine metabolites for distinguishing patients with hepatitis B from hepatocellular carcinoma

Aim: In order to differential diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B (HBV-I) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a UPLC–MS/MS method for measuring purine metabolites was developed. Methodology & results: serum samples from 26 HBV-I and 35 HCC patients were collected. Ten purine metabolites were simultaneously quantified by UPLC–MS/MS with tubercidin and uric acid-1,3-15N2 as internal standards. The method was validated to meet the requirements of clinical sample analysis. A logistic equation was established for differential diagnosis of HBV-I and HCC by combination of xanthosine and guanine with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.885. Conclusion: Guanine and xanthosine are intermediates in the metabolism of purine, which play an important role in gene synthesis, and metabolism regulation. The alteration of serum purine metabolite may contribute to differential diagnosis of HBV-I and HCC.