Expression of extracellular matrix protein 1 in hepatocellular carcinoma is correlated with prognosis

Abstract

Objective To examine the expression of extracellular matrix protein 1 ( ECM1 ) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its correlation with prognosis and recurrence of HCC.Methods Immunohistochemistry was used to detect expression of ECM1 in cancerous tissues from 77 HCC patients. The correlation between ECM1 expression and clinicopathologic features and prognosis were analyzed. Results ECM1 is mainly expressed in the cytoplasm of liver cells. The positive rate of ECM1 expression in HCC tissues were 74. 0% (57/77), and the expression level was significantly correlated with vascular invasion (χ2 =6.523, P =0.011 ) and TNM stage (χ2 =6.989, P =0.030). No significant correlation was found between the expression of ECM1 and patient's gender, age, AFP level of plasm, tumor size, number of nodules, and tumor differentiation. Patients with positive ECM1 expression have significantly poorer overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) after curative resection than those with negative ECM1 expression (P =0. 016). The Cox multivariate analysis demonstrated that among the factors analyzed, ECM1 expression is an independent prognostic factors for OS and DFS in HCC patients after a curative resection (RR=3.721, P=0.002; RR=2.323, P=0.031). Conclusions Positive ECM1 is correlated with postoperative metastasis and invasion of HCC and poor prognosis. Key words: Carcinoma, hepatocellular; Extracellular matrix proteins; Prognosis