HO-1 is a favorable prognostic factor for HBV-HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy.

Abstract

BackgroundMore than 500,000 people suffered from hepatocelluar carcinoma (HCC) annually and the relative incidence to mortality rate indicates its unfavorable prognosis. Several studies have proved that heme-oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is indirectly engaged in the invasion and the metastasis of some types of malignancies, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, and lung cancer. The role of HO-1 in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC is still not clarified.Materials and methodsThe Western blot, doubling time, cell cycle analysis, migration assay, invasion assay, gene transfection, xenograft animal model, immunohistochemistry staining, and clinical validation study were applied in this study.ResultsHO-1 overexpression not only decreased the growth but also inhibited the migration and invasion in human HBV-HCC cells (Hep-3B vs PLC/PRF/5). The inhibitory effect on growth, migration, and invasion is further demonstrated by the overexpression of HO-1 in Hep-3B cell by transfection study. Furthermore, HO-1 decreasing the growth of HBV-HCC was confirmed in animal study. The clinical validation illustrated that higher HO1 expression was also associated with favorable disease-free survival of HBV-HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy.ConclusionsWe identified HO-1 as a favorable prognostic factor for HBV-HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy.