P644 Leucine-rich alpha 2 glycoprotein- A useful biomarker to discriminate small intestinal mucosal healing in asymptomatic CRP-negative Crohn’s disease

Abstract

Abstract Background The long-term treatment goals for inflammatory bowel disease including Crohn’s disease (CD) have shifted from clinical remission to mucosal healing. However, frequent endoscopies are a great burden on the patients. Leucine-rich alpha 2 glycoprotein (LRG) is produced by hepatocytes, neutrophils, and the intestinal epithelium. Therefore, it is speculated to be more gut-specific than C-reactive protein (CRP) level. This study examined whether LRG could be used as a biomarker to determine the presence or absence of small intestinal mucosal healing in asymptomatic patients with CRP-negative CD. Methods The subjects of this study were asymptomatic CRP-negative CD patients who visited our department from May 2021 to October 2022, had their LRG measured, and underwent imaging evaluation by capsule endoscopy or balloon-assisted endoscopy. We analysed the patients’ clinical background, the ROC-AUC of LRG for mucosal healing, the cut-off value of LRG to discriminate mucosal healing. Endoscopic evaluation was performed within 3 months before and after the LRG measurement. Mucosal healing was defined as the absence of open ulcers. Clinical remission (no subjective symptoms) was defined as a Harvey-Bradshaw index (HBI) ≤4 points. The upper limit of the normal CRP value was set to <3 mg/L. Results A total of 28 cases were analysed; 13 (46%) were men. The median age (range) of onset was 21.2 years (7-52 years). The median disease duration (range) was 6.4 years (0-27). B1 was established in 13 (45%) cases, B2 in 7 (25%) cases and B3 of Montreal Classification in 8 (29%) cases. The median (range) of the HBI score was 2 (0-4). The median (range) of LRG was 12.3 g/ml (7.6-20.5 μg/ml). The ROC-AUC of LRG for mucosal healing was 0.743 (95% confidence interval 0.559-0.927). The cut-off value of LRG for discriminating mucosal healing was 12.2 μg/ml (sensitivity 0.769, specificity 0.682). Conclusion In asymptomatic CRP-negative CD patients, when LRG was 12.2 μg/ml or more, it was suggested that they might have small intestinal ulcers.