Background Liver function is an important factor in the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but a convenient and comprehensive method to assess liver function is lacking. Liver stiffness (LS), measured by two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE), may help in assessing liver fibrosis and liver function. The high prevalence of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is an important risk factor for HCC progression in Asia, but it was shown that LS was less reliable in assessing liver fibrosis after hepatitis viral eradication. We hypothesized that the status of hepatitis virus infection would affect the value of LS in assessing liver function. The present study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and influencing factors of 2D-SWE in assessing liver function in patients with HCC and CHB.

Methods 284 patients were retrospectively recruited and were classified into two groups according to serum chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV)-DNA levels [HBV-DNA ≥100.00 IU/mL as Pos group (n =200) and <100.00 IU/mL as Neg group (n =84)]. Correlation analyses and receiver operating characteristic analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship between liver stiffness (LS) and liver function.

Results A significant correlation was found in both groups between LS and liver function indexes (p <0.05). When alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤40 U/L, LS was correlated with liver function (p <0.05), but the LS cutoff value to differentiate a Child-Pugh 5 score was higher in the Neg group (9.30 kPa) than Pos group (7.40 kPa); while when ALT >40 U/L, LS was not very accurate in differentiating different liver function scores (p >0.05).

Conclusions LS could be used to assess liver function in patients with CHB and HCC, but the level of ALT and HBV-DNA should be considered.