Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common types of cancer across the world. Hyaluronic acid (HA) has been reported to serve an important role in tumor extension, progression, migration and invasion. In addition, the receptor for HA-mediated motility (RHAMM) has been demonstrated to be overexpressed in different types of cancer. However, whether the upregulation of RHAMM contributes to hepatocarcinogenesis of HCC remains unclear. The present study examined the RHAMM expression in 187 HCC patients by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). RHAMM expression was significantly upregulated in liver cancer tissues compared with that observed in adjacent normal liver tissues. The IHC analysis demonstrated that RHAMM was overexpressed in 18 (72.0%) of the 25 HCC tissues. Furthermore, overexpression of RHAMM was associated with tumor-node-metastasis (TNM), the presence of vascular invasion and recurrence. Notably, the present study indicated that the overexpression of RHAMM was closely associated with the shorter disease-free and overall survival, so it may be a potential independent predictor for disease-free and overall survival of HCC patients. In conclusion, the upregulation of RHAMM is associated with HCC progression and prognosis; and it may be a potential independent predictor of disease-free and overall survival of HCC following surgical resection.
Highlights
Liver cancer is one of the most common neoplasms worldwide, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most prevalent type of liver cancer and accounts for 70‐85% of all cases [1], ranking the sixth most common malignant tumors worldwide [2]
Surgical resection and liver‐transplantation are superior therapeutic methods for HCC compared with other treatments, including radiofrequency ablation (RFA), transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and chemotherapy, the treatment outcomes remain unsatisfactory owing to the high recurrence rate and high fatality rate of HCC [2]
The levels of receptor for HA‐mediated motility (RHAMM) mRNA expression in the 187 pairs of human HCC and their ANLT were detected by Reverse transcription‐quantitative polymerase chain reac‐ tion (RT‐PCR)
Summary
Liver cancer is one of the most common neoplasms worldwide, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most prevalent type of liver cancer and accounts for 70‐85% of all cases [1], ranking the sixth most common malignant tumors worldwide [2]. If HCC was detected and diagnosed earlier, surgical resection and liver‐transplantation would result in an improved curative effect, improving the disease‐free and overall survival. When RHAMM combines with hyaluronan on the cell surface, it can activate a signal transduction cascade to cause intracellular protein tyrosine phosphorylation. It locates in the cytoplasm, centrosome, the cytoskeleton and nucleus [9]. It was demonstrated that RHAMM was frequently upregulated in HCC and its upregulation was closely associated with shorter disease‐free and overall survival of HCC patients
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