Abstract
To investigate the significance of stanniocalcin-2 (STC2) expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and adjacent tissues. Levels of STC2 in HCC tissue were detected in 200 HCC patients tissues and adjacent tissues as controls by immunohistochemistry technique (IHC) and reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR). Single factor analysis was used to study the relationship between expression of STC2 mRNA and protein and clinicopathological features of HCC. Multifactor Cox survival analysis was used to relationship between the expression of STC2 and overall survival of postoperative patients with HCC. IHC staining showed that the expression of STC2 protein rate was 81.00% (163/200). And the positive rate of adjacent tissues was 29.00% (58/200). Western blot showed that the expression of STC2 protein in HCC was significantly higher than that in the adjacent tissues (P<0.05). RT-PCR showed that the positive rates of STC2 mRNA expression in HCC were 75.50% (151/200), which was significantly higher than that in adjacent tissues 14.50% (29/200) (P<0.05). Both STC2 mRNA and protein expression are related to tumor diameter, stage, tumor metastasis, carcinoma emboli in the portal vein and the degree of tumor differentiation in HCC. The HCC patients with higher expression of STC2 had shorter median survival time. STC2 expression, tumor diameter, carcinoma emboli in the portal vein, tumor differentiation degree, and tumor stage were independent factors affecting the overall survival of postoperative patients. The high expression of STC2 mRNA and protein expression in HCC may be associated with the occurrence, development, and prognosis of HCC. STC2 may also be possible to help developing new therapeutic strategies for HCC.
Highlights
Primary liver cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors [1,2]
The expression of STC2 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and adjacent tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry technique (IHC)
The expression of STC2 protein was stronger in HCC tissues, but it was weaker or not expressed in adjacent tissues
Summary
Primary liver cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors [1,2]. Over 90% of primary liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC is one of the most common malignant tumors in China. There are more than 500,000 new patients with HCC in the world every year, while more than half of them occur in China. The molecular mechanism of cancer has been a hot topic [5,6]. Many studies have shown that STC2 plays an important role in the regulation of colorectal cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, ovarian cancer, and other solid tumors, such as accelerating the invasion and metastasis of tumor cells, inhibiting cell apoptosis, and so on [10,11,12]. The expression of STC2 in HCC is not clear. To clarify the relationship between STC2 and the occurrence and development of HCC can provide ideas for the later diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of HCC
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