Clinical significance of Cox-2, Survivin and Bcl-2 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)

Abstract

Cox-2, Survivin and Bcl-2 are frequently overexpressed in numerous types of cancers. They are known to be the important regulators of apoptosis. This study was designed to investigate the correlation between the clinical characteristics and the expression of Cox-2, Survivin and Bcl-2 in hepatocellular carcinoma. A total of 63 postoperative hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) samples, 10 adjacent non-tumor samples and 10 normal liver samples were immunochemically detected for the expression of Cox-2, Survivin and Bcl-2. A median follow-up of 4 years for the 63 HCC patients was conducted. Univariate tests and multivariate Cox regression were performed for statistical analysis. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the survival. Positive expression of Cox-2 (84.3%) and Survivin (77.8%) was detected significantly more frequently in the HCC samples than in the normal liver tissues (30% and 0, respectively). Bcl-2 was highly expressed in the adjacent non-tumor tissue. Cox-2 was positively correlative to Survivin. Survivin and Bcl-2 were significantly associated with the pathological grade of HCC (P<0.05). Expression of both Cox-2 and Survivin was significantly associated with the poor overall survival (OS) (P=0.0141, P=0.0039). Furthermore, multivariate analysis confirmed the independent prognostic value of Survivin expression, along with tumor size and hepatic function. Cox-2 and Survivin were highly expressed in the HCC tissue. Survivin and Bcl-2 were significantly associated with the pathological grade of HCC. The expression of Survivin was an independent prognostic factor for HCC after a hepatectomy. Treatment that inhibits Survivin may be a promising targeted approach in HCC.