Abstract:

Background and purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common cancer with poor prognosis. The main reason leading to the poor prognosis of HCC is the highly invasive and metastatic ability. Therefore, trying to know the mechanism of HCC invasion and getting an effective interventions target is very important. Some studies suggest that secreted clusterin (sCLU) and Golgi glycoprotein 73 (GP73) played important roles in the development of tumour process, and both of them have structural and functional similarities. The aim of the article was to investigate the expression of GP73 and sCLU in HCC and their relationship with the clinicopathological features and the prognosis, and finally to evaluate the value of them. Methods: Seventy-five cases of HCC were collected. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to determine the expression of GP73 and sCLU in HCC and normal liver tissues. Spearman rank was used to analyze the correlation between GP73 and sCLU in HCC. The relationship of GP73 and sCLU expression with the clinicopathological features and the prognosis was investigated. Results: The positive rates of GP73 and sCLU in HCC were 72% (54/75) and 88% (66/75) respectively; but in normal liver tissues, it was 4% (3/75). GP73-positive rate in HCC was higher than that of the normal liver tissues (χ2=73.60, P<0.05). sCLU-positive rate in HCC was also higher than that of the normal liver tissues (χ2=207.94, P<0.05). GP73 expression was positively correlated with sCLU expression in HCC (r=0.405, P<0.05). GP73 and sCLU were associated with clinicopathological features including tumor differentiation, TNM stage and vascular invasion (P<0.05); GP73 and sCLU had no correlation with the patient’s gender, age, HBsAg, cirrhosis, AFP value, portal vein thrombosis and tumor numbers (P>0.05). GP73 was associated with survival but not sCLU. Conclusion: GP73 and sCLU have higher positive rates in HCC and GP73 is positively correlated with sCLU. The expression of GP73 and sCLU are probably closely related with the invasion of HCC, which can help evaluate the prognosis of the patients.

Key words: Hepatocellular carcinoma, Golgi glycoprotein 73, Secreted Clusterin, Invasion, Prognosis