Abstract
This study aimed to investigate KIF18A expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to determine the possibility of KIF18A expression being a biomarker in HCC diagnosis or being an independent predictor of disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in HCC patients underwent surgical resection. KIF18AmRNA was detected in 216 cases of HCC tissues by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and in 20 cases of HCC tissues by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. KIF18A protein was determined in 32 cases of HCC tissues by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The survival probability was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method, and survival curves between groups were obtained by using the log-rank test. Independent predictors associated with DFS were analyzed with Stepwise Cox proportional hazard models. High KIF18A mRNA level was detected in 154 out of 216 (71.3%) cases of HCC. The positive rate of KIF18A expression was significantly higher in liver cancer tissues than that in adjacent normal liver tissues (ANLT) from HCC patients [65.6% (21 of 32) vs. 25.0% (8 of 32), P=0.001]. The KIF18A expression level had positive relevance to the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (≥ 200 ng/ml), tumor size (≥ 5 cm), clinical tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage and portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) in HCC (all P <0.05). A survival analysis indicated that HCC patients with higher KIF18A expression had a significantly shorter DFS and OS after resection. A multivariate analysis suggested that KIF18A upregualtion was an independent factor for DFS [hazard risk (HR)=1.602; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.029-2.579; P=0.031] and OS (HR=1.682; 95% CI, 1.089-2.600; P=0.019). KIF18A might be a biomarker for HCC diagnosis and an independent predictor of DFS and OS after surgical resection.
Highlights
Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most prevalent cancers that frequently lead to cancer-related death all over the world [1]
Our findings demonstrated that KIF18A is upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and KIF18A expression might be a potential biomarker for HCC histological diagnosis as well as an independent predictor of disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in HCC patients with surgical resection
Both of them increased in 92 cases (42.6%), AFP alone increased in 27 cases (12.5%) and KIF18A expression alone increased in 62 cases (28.7%) (Fig. 1D)
Summary
Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most prevalent cancers that frequently lead to cancer-related death all over the world [1]. Despite the considerable progress in HCC diagnosis and treatment, surgical resection is still one of the most efficient treatments. The postoperative survival rate of HCC patients has been improved. Due to the versatile causes of HCC, the prognosis of HCC is www.impactjournals.com/oncotarget.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
