Correlation between phosphatase of regenerating liver-3 and portal vein tumor thrombus of hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To explore the correlation between phosphatase of regenerating liver-3 (PRL-3) and portal vein tumor thrombus in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods Clinical data of 248 patients with HCC undergoing hepatectomy in the First People's Hospital of Foshan between December 2003 and December 2008 were retrospectively analyzed. The informed consents of all patients were obtained and the local ethical committee approval had been received. Among the 248 patients, 193 were males and 55 were females with the age ranging from 18 to 75 years old and the median of 48 years old. Forty-five cases were complicated with portal vein tumor thrombus. The expression of PRL-3 in HCC and portal vein tumor thrombus were observed by immunohistochemistry. The correlation between the expression of PRL-3 and the clinicopathological parameters of HCC patients and its significance in portal vein tumor thrombus formation were analyzed. The analysis on the correlation between the expression of PRL-3 and the clinicopathological parameters of HCC was conducted using χ2 test and the analysis on the risk factors associated with portal vein tumor thrombus formation was conducted using Logistic regression analysis. Results The positive expression rate of PRL-3 in HCC and portal vein tumor thrombus was 70% (174/249) and 98% (44/45)respectively, and the positive expression rate in portal vein tumor thrombus was significantly higher than that in HCC (χ2=15.253, P<0.05). The positive expression of PRL-3 was associated with the serum AFP, tumor diameter, histological differentiation of tumor, portal vein tumor thrombus formation, tumor TNM staging and early recurrence (χ2=4.836, 7.186, 4.226, 5.357, 13.862, 10.824; P<0.05). The positive expression of PRL-3 was the risk factor for portal vein tumor thrombus formation (OR=2.674, P<0.05). Conclusions PRL-3 expression increases in HCC portal vein tumor thrombus and positive expression of PRL-3 may be closely associated with the invasion and metastasis of HCC. Key words: Carcinoma, hepatocellular; Portal vein; Neoplastic cells, circulating; Neoplasm metastasis