Expression of HnRNP A1, ZEB1, and E-cadherin in Hepatocellular carcinoma and their impact on patients' prognosis and survival.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies in Egypt. HCCs usually have a poor prognosis because of late diagnosis, aggressive metastasis, and early invasion. Heterogeneous ribonucleoproteins (HnRNPs) are nuclear proteins that play a variety of roles in telomere formation, DNA repair, cell signaling, and gene regulation. Zincfinger Eboxbinding homeoboxes (ZEBs) are transcription factors that have a consistent inverse correlation with Ecadherin in numerous types of cancer and associated with poor prognosis. This study aimed to verify the prognostic expression of HnRNP A1, ZEB1, and E-cadherin in HCC. The retrospective study consisted of 54 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of hepatocellular carcinoma. Immunohistochemical staining was performed using antibodies against HnRNP A1, ZEB1, and E-cadherin. The patients were followed at the Clinical Oncology Department from May 2018 to July 2021. SPSS version 20 using the Chi-square test to compare data and the Kaplan-Meier plot for comparing survival. HnRNP A1 high positivity was detected in 59.3% of the cases, whereas negative E-cadherin and ZEB 1 expression presented in 37% and 70.4% of the patients, respectively. A statistically significant relation was present between HnRNP A1, ZEB1, E-cadherin, and various clinicopathological variables. The mean progression-free survival and overall survival in low HnRNP A1 and negative ZEB1 expressions were longer than those exhibited in high HnRNP A1 and positive ZEB1 expressions. HnRNP A1 and ZEB1 expressions are poor prognostic factors of HCC. E-cadherin has an important role in the development of differentiated HCCs and favorable outcome.