Prognostic Biomarker For Hepatocellular Carcinoma Research Articles

WDR4 as a potential indicator of clinical prognosis and immunotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma.

e16275 Background: Immunotherapy has garnered increasing attention in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment. However, there remains a pressing need for effective immunological predictive biomarkers. In our previous study, utilizing data extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, we identified a positive correlation between WDR4 expression levels in hepatocellular carcinoma and various clinical parameters, encompassing Stage, T-stage, pathological grade, AFP level, and vascular invasion. Additionally, higher WDR4 expression was linked to poorer prognosis. Leveraging The TIMER and GEPIA databases, we further elucidated a significant association between WDR4 expression levels and the extent of immune cell infiltration, particularly macrophages, B lymphocytes, and myeloid suppressor cells, in hepatocellular carcinoma. These findings propose the potential utility of WDR4 as a biomarker for immune infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma. As noted in the trial NCT03867084, which hypothesized that adjuvant pembrolizumab might surpass placebo efficacy, there still exists a gap in identifying the specific population benefiting from adjuvant immunotherapy. Methods: Clinical and pathological data from patients who underwent single-agent immunotherapy for HCC were additionally collected from Hunan Provincial People's Hospital between January 1, 2019, and January 31, 2024. These patients participated in the clinical trial (NCT03867084) with informed consent. The relationship between WDR4 expression levels, clinical pathological data, and patient prognosis was assessed using the Kruskal-Wallis test and Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis. Results: WDR4 displayed significant upregulation in HCC tissues compared to para-carcinoma tissues (P < 0.001) and exhibited robust diagnostic potential. WDR4 expression showed significant associations with various immune cells, including macrophages (r = 0.278, P < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that patients with high WDR4 expression had shorter postoperative progression-free survival in the context of immunotherapy. Data from 37 patients who underwent postoperative single-agent immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (NCT03867084) revealed a significant correlation between WDR4 expression levels and Disease-Free Survival (DFS), with notable statistical significance (Log-rank P < 0.001). Conclusions: WDR4 demonstrates elevated expression levels within HCC tissues and is associated with immune infiltration, establishing it as a prognostic biomarker in HCC. Furthermore, the positive correlation observed between WDR4 and CD68 as well as PD-L1 underscores its potential as a guiding factor in immunotherapeutic approaches for HCC.

SLC7A11 as a prognostic biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma.

e16004 Background: Disulfidptosis has been discovered as a mechanism of cell death mediating by SLC7A11. Nonetheless, little is known about the relationship between SLC7A11 and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: The clinical and follow-up data of 84 consecutive HCC cases who met the inclusion criteria from 2016 to 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The expression level of SLC7A11 in tissue samples was determined by immunohistochemistry. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were performed to assess the correlation between survival and SLC7A11 expression in HCC patients. Results: We observed that SLC7A11 expression in HCC tissue is significantly higher than that in corresponding para-cancer tissue. Positive immunostaining SLC7A11 of was mainly located in the cytoplasm of HCC. Univariate analysis indicated that clinical pathological features such as expression level of SLC7A11, cirrhosis and stages were all risk factors affecting OS (P < 0.001). Multivariate COX analysis showed that expression level of SLC7A11 was independent risk factors for OS and high-level expression of SLC7A11 indicated poor overall survival for pHCC (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Our study showed that SLC7A11 might be a potential poor prognostic biomarker in HCC and represents a novel diagnostic marker and therapeutic target for HCC. Keywords: SLC7A11; disulfidptosis; hepatocellular carcinoma; prognostic biomarker.

SLC7A11 as a prognostic biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma.

e16004 Background: Disulfidptosis has been discovered as a mechanism of cell death mediating by SLC7A11. Nonetheless, little is known about the relationship between SLC7A11 and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: The clinical and follow-up data of 84 consecutive HCC cases who met the inclusion criteria from 2016 to 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The expression level of SLC7A11 in tissue samples was determined by immunohistochemistry. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were performed to assess the correlation between survival and SLC7A11 expression in HCC patients. Results: We observed that SLC7A11 expression in HCC tissue is significantly higher than that in corresponding para-cancer tissue. Positive immunostaining SLC7A11 of was mainly located in the cytoplasm of HCC. Univariate analysis indicated that clinical pathological features such as expression level of SLC7A11, cirrhosis and stages were all risk factors affecting OS (P < 0.001). Multivariate COX analysis showed that expression level of SLC7A11 was independent risk factors for OS and high-level expression of SLC7A11 indicated poor overall survival for pHCC (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Our study showed that SLC7A11 might be a potential poor prognostic biomarker in HCC and represents a novel diagnostic marker and therapeutic target for HCC. Keywords: SLC7A11; disulfidptosis; hepatocellular carcinoma; prognostic biomarker.

Plasma CD24 level as a promising prognostic biomarker of hepatocellular carcinoma

BackgroundHepatocellular carcinoma constitutes the most common primary hepatic cancer and remains a major medical burden in both developing and developed world. It ranks fifth in terms of global cases and second in terms of deaths for males.CD24 is known as a heavily glycosylated cell surface molecule that is highly expressed in a wide variety of human malignancies. It plays an important role in self-renewal, proliferation, migration, invasion, and drug resistance. The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential role of serum CD24 in the diagnosis and prediction of response to interventional therapy among hepatocellular carcinomas.MethodsThis study included 40 adult Egyptian patients who had liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC group). Another group of 20 patients with liver cirrhosis only served as controls (Cirrhosis group). All patients underwent standard laboratory tests and abdominal ultrasound. For HCC patients, a triphasic CT scan, alpha-fetoprotein was done. CD24 levels were measured in all patients, and in HCC patients at baseline and one month after intervention.ResultsBaseline CD24 was significantly higher among HCC group in comparison to cirrhosis group (19.463 ± 8.573 vs. 0.725 ± 0.125 mg/L) with an overall p value < 0.001. Serum CD24 levels significantly declined after locoregional treatment from 19.463 ± 8.573 mg/L to 3.569 ± 1.248 mg/L (p < 0.001). Baseline CD24 was a useful marker in eligibility for HCC intervention with 80% sensitivity and 74.29% specificity at a cutoff of ≤ 23 mg/L, and it also had 62.96% sensitivity and 100% specificity in prediction of cure after locoregional treatment at a cutoff of ≤ 19.5 mg/L.ConclusionCD24 could be a helpful diagnostic and prognostic marker for HCC, as its baseline level is useful in predicting both eligibility for intervention and cure after locoregional treatment.

LMNB1/CDKN1A Signaling Regulates the Cell Cycle and Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies in the world. Lamin B1 (LMNB1) is a key component of the nuclear skeleton structure. Recent studies have found that LMNB1 is overexpressed in tumor tissues and is associated with the prognosis of patients. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear in HCC. This study aims to explore the clinical significance and molecular mechanisms of LMNB1 in HCC. The expression level of LMNB1 and its clinical values were analyzed with public databases, and the level of LMNB1 in HCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues was confirmed by qRT-PCR and IHC. Functional assays were conducted to explore the impact of LMNB1 knockdown on cell proliferation both in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis, recovery analysis, and ChIP assays were employed to investigate its underlying molecular mechanisms. Finally, we carried out an analysis of the relationship between LMNB1 and immune cell infiltration in HCC. LMNB1 was found to be overexpressed in HCC and correlated with the pathological stage and unfavorable prognosis. Functional assays demonstrated that LMNB1 promotes HCC proliferation both in vitro and in vivo. Further analysis revealed that LMNB1 promotes the progression of HCC by regulating CDKN1A expression. Furthermore, the infiltration of immune cells in HCC tissues suggests a potential correlation between immune infiltration cell markers and the expression of LMNB1. LMNB1 emerged as a promising therapeutic target and prognostic biomarker for HCC, with its expression showing a correlation with several immune infiltration cell markers.

Discovering novel prognostic biomarkers of hepatocellular carcinoma using eXplainable Artificial Intelligence

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a global health challenge with high mortality rates, largely due to late diagnosis and suboptimal efficacy of current therapies. With the imperative need for more reliable, non-invasive diagnostic tools and novel therapeutic strategies, this study focuses on the discovery and application of novel genetic biomarkers for HCC using explainable artificial intelligence (XAI). Despite advances in HCC research, current biomarkers like Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) exhibit limitations in sensitivity and specificity, necessitating a shift towards more precise and reliable markers. This paper presents an innovative multi-model XAI and a probabilistic causal inference framework to identify and validate key genetic biomarkers for HCC prognosis. Our methodology involved analyzing clinical and gene expression data to identify potential biomarkers with prognostic significance. The study utilized robust AI models validated against extensive gene expression datasets, demonstrating not only the predictive accuracy but also the clinical relevance of the identified biomarkers through explainable metrics. The findings highlight the importance of biomarkers such as TOP3B, SSBP3, and COX7A2L, which were consistently influential across multiple models, suggesting their role in improving the predictive accuracy for HCC prognosis beyond AFP. Notably, the study also emphasizes the relevance of these biomarkers to the Hispanic population, aligning with the larger goal of demographic-specific research. The application of XAI in biomarker discovery represents a significant advancement in HCC research, offering a more nuanced understanding of the disease and laying the groundwork for improved diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Clinical significance of PNO1 as a novel biomarker and therapeutic target of hepatocellular carcinoma

AbstractThe RNA‐binding protein PNO1 plays an essential role in ribosome biogenesis. Recent studies have shown that it is involved in tumorigenesis; however, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to examine whether PNO1 can be used as a biomarker of HCC and also examine the therapeutic potential of PNO1 knockout for the treatment of HCC. PNO1 expression was upregulated in HCC and associated with poor prognosis. PNO1 expression was positively associated with tumour stage, lymph node metastasis and poor survival. PNO1 expression was significantly higher in HCC compared to that in fibrolamellar carcinoma or normal tissues. Furthermore, HCC tissues with mutant Tp53 expressed higher PNO1 than those with wild‐type Tp53. PNO1 knockout suppressed cell viability, colony formation and EMT of HCC cells. Since activation of Notch signalling pathway promotes HCC, we measured the effects of PNO1 knockout on the components of Notch pathway and its targets. PNO1 knockout suppressed Notch signalling by modulating the expression of Notch ligands and their receptors, and downstream targets. PNO1 knockout also inhibited genes involved in surface adhesion, cell cycle, inflammation and chemotaxis. PNO1 knockout also inhibited colony and spheroid formation, cell migration and invasion, and markers of stem cells, pluripotency and EMT in CSCs. Overall, our data suggest that PNO1 can be used as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of HCC, and knockout of PNO1 by CRISPR/Cas9 can be beneficial for the management of HCC by targeting CSCs.

Construction of a TP53 mutation-associated ceRNA network as prognostic biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma

BackgroundHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) continues to endanger human health worldwide. Regulatory networks of competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) play important roles in HCC. TP53 is the second most often altered gene in HCC and has a significant role in regulating target genes such as miRNAs and lncRNAs. MethodsData from patients with TP53 mutation were collected through the cBioPortal database and differential analysis was performed to screen RNAs related to TP53 mutation. The lncRNA-miRNA–mRNA relationship was predicted by the miRcode, miRDB, and TargetScan databases. The ceRNA networks were screened and visualized by Cytoscape. Core ceRNA networks were generated by differential analysis, coexpression analysis, prognostic analysis and subcellular localization. Finally, methylation, mutation, PPI, GSEA, immunity and drug sensitivity analyses of MEX3A were performed to determine the role of MEX3A in HCC. ResultsWe identified 1508 DEmRNAs, 85 DEmiRNAs and 931 DElncRNAs and obtained a ceRNA network including 28 lncRNAs, 4 miRNAs and 31 mRNAs. Twenty hub DERNAs in the TP53-altered-related ceRNA network were screened out by Cytoscape and the core ceRNA network (LINC00491/TCL6-hsa-miR-139-5p-MEX3A) was obtained by multiple analyses. In addition, we discovered that the methylation level of MEX3A was decreased and the mutation frequency was raised in HCC. Furthermore, elevated MEX3A expression was associated with alterations in the HCC immunological microenvironment. ConclusionWe successfully constructed a reciprocal ceRNA network, which could provide new ideas for exploring HCC mechanisms and therapeutic approaches.

Proteomics Identifies LUC7L3 as a Prognostic Biomarker for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Alternative splicing has been shown to participate in tumor progression, including hepatocellular carcinoma. The poor prognosis of patients with HCC calls for molecular classification and biomarker identification to facilitate precision medicine. We performed ssGSEA analysis to quantify the pathway activity of RNA splicing in three HCC cohorts. Kaplan-Meier and Cox methods were used for survival analysis. GO and GSEA were performed to analyze pathway enrichment. We confirmed that RNA splicing is significantly correlated with prognosis, and identified an alternative splicing-associated protein LUC7L3 as a potential HCC prognostic biomarker. Further bioinformatics analysis revealed that high LUC7L3 expression indicated a more progressive HCC subtype and worse clinical features. Cell proliferation-related pathways were enriched in HCC patients with high LUC7L3 expression. Consistently, we proved that LUC7L3 knockdown could significantly inhibit cell proliferation and suppress the activation of associated signaling pathways in vitro. In this research, the relevance between RNA splicing and HCC patient prognosis was outlined. Our newly identified biomarker LUC7L3 could provide stratification for patient survival and recurrence risk, facilitating early medical intervention before recurrence or disease progression.

Prognostic model and ceRNA network of m7G- and radiosensitivity-related genes in hepatocellular carcinoma

BackgroundRadiotherapy is an effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recent studies indicated that N7-methylguanosine (m7G)-associated genes are involved in radioresistance and prognosis of HCC. However, the prognostic value and underlying mechanism of m7G-and radiosensitivity-associated genes are still lacking. MethodsThe related statistics of HCC were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). M7G- and radiosensitivity-associated genes were screened and evaluated using correlation, differential, univariate, and multivariate analysis. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm was used to establish a prognostic model. Prognostic efficacy, functional analysis, immune cell infiltration,and drug sensitivity of the prognostic model were assessed. The ceRNA network was predicted and evaluated through the StarBase database, correlation analysis, expression analysis, and survival analysis. ResultMETTL1, EIF3D, NCBP2, and WDR4 participated in prognosis model construction. The favorable prediction efficiency has been verified in both the training and verification sets. Different risk groups have differences in prognosis outcome, function analysis, immune cell infiltration, and drug sensitivity. NCBP2 can be used to predict the prognosis and has excellent potential in immunotherapy. A prognostic ceRNA network based on the NCBP2/miR-122-5p axis was established. ConclusionThe prognosis model of m7G- and radiosensitivity-related genes is constructed, and widely used in clinical prognosis, immunotherapy, and drug therapy. NCBP2, as a hub gene, may be a prognostic biomarker for HCC and is related to immunotherapy. Establishing the NCBP2/miR-122-5p axis helps study the mechanism of ceRNA and provides new ideas for finding a new candidate biomarker.

Comprehensive analysis of INTS family related to expression, prognosis, diagnosis and immune features in hepatocellular carcinoma

PurposeThe integrator subunit (INTS) family, a group exclusive to metazoans, participates in various biologic processes. However, their roles in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain largely unexplored. MethodsPublic databases were utilized to investigate the transcriptional and protein expression, and clinical relevance of the INTS family in HCC. Meanwhile, the effects of INTS13 knockdown and overexpression on cell proliferation and apoptosis were studied using HCC cell lines. ResultsThe mRNA expression of most INTSs were higher in tumor than normal tissues. Higher expression of INTS1/2/3/4/7/8/9/11/12/13 were correlated with poorer overall survival (OS) in Kaplan-Meier Survival Analysis. Multivariate analysis revealed higher level of INTS13 was an independent prognostic factor for shorter OS. Furthermore, genetic alteration of INTS3/6/7/8/9/10 were found in HCC patients and was associated with shorter disease-free survival and progression-free survival. INTS1/2/3/5/7/11/13/14 were associated with activation of tumor-induced immune response and immune infiltration in HCC. Knockdown of INTS13 inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in HCC cell lines, while overexpression of INTS13 had the opposite effect. ConclusionOur results indicate that INTS13 is an independent prognostic biomarker in HCC. Furthermore, INTS13 enhances cell proliferation and decreases cell apoptosis in HCC cell lines leading to a poorer OS in HCC patients.

Prognostic impact of CD68+ tumor-associated macrophages in hepatocellular carcinoma: A meta-analysis.

Evidence from clinical research suggests that the tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) were associated with prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of the present meta-analysis was to conduct a qualitative analysis to explore the prognostic value of CD68 + TAMs in HCC. This study conducted a systematic search in Pubmed, Embase, the Cochrane Library and China National Knowledge Internet from inception of the databases to November 2023. The hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated employing fixed-effect or random-effect models depending on the heterogeneity of the included trials. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to evaluate the risk of prejudice. We analyzed 4362 HCC patients. The present research indicated that the expression levels Of CD68 + TAMs were significantly associated with overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.30-1.84) and disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.17-1.78). Subgroup analysis based on cutoff values showed that the "Median" subgroup showed a pooled HR of 1.66 with a 95% CI ranging from 1.32 to 2.08, which was slightly higher than the "Others" subgroup that exhibited a pooled HR of 1.40 and a 95% CI of 1.07 to 1.84. The "PT" subgroup had the highest pooled HR of 1.68 (95% CI: 1.19-2.37), indicating a worse OS compared to the "IT" (pooled HR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.13-2.01) and "Mix" (pooled HR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.03-2.26) subgroups. Moreover, in the sample size-based analysis, studies with more than 100 samples (>100) exhibited a higher pooled HR of 1.57 (95% CI: 1.28 to 1.93) compared to studies with fewer than 100 samples (<100), which had a pooled HR of 1.45 (95% CI: 1.00-2.10). The analysis suggests that CD68 + TAMs were significantly associated with unfavorable OS and DFS in HCC patients, and may be served as a promising prognostic biomarker in HCC. However, more large-scale trials are needed to study the clinical value of TAMs in HCC.

Programmed Death 1 and Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte-Associated Protein 4 Gene Expression in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Can Serve as Prognostic Biomarkers for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly aggressive form of liver cancer with poor prognosis. The lack of reliable biomarkers for early detection and accurate diagnosis and prognosis poses a significant challenge to its effective clinical management. In this study, we investigated the diagnostic and prognostic potential of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in HCC. PD-1 and CTLA-4 gene expression was analyzed comparatively using PBMCs collected from HCC patients and healthy individuals. The results revealed higher PD-1 gene expression levels in patients with multifocal tumors, lymphatic invasion, or distant metastasis than those in their control counterparts. However, conventional serum biomarkers of liver function do not exhibit similar correlations. In conclusion, PD-1 gene expression is associated with OS and PFS and CTLA-4 gene expression is associated with OS, whereas the serum biomarkers analyzed in this study show no significant correlation with survival in HCC. Hence, PD-1 and CTLA-4 expressed in PBMCs are considered potential prognostic biomarkers for patients with HCC that can facilitate prediction of malignancy, response to currently available HCC treatments, and overall survival.

The role of Aurora kinase A in hepatocellular carcinoma: Unveiling the intriguing functions of a key but still underexplored factor in liver cancer.

Aurora Kinase A (AURKA) plays a central role as a serine/threonine kinase in regulating cell cycle progression and mitotic functions. Over the years, extensive research has revealed the multifaceted roles of AURKA in cancer development and progression. AURKA's dysregulation is frequently observed in various human cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Its overexpression in HCC has been associated with aggressive phenotypes and poor clinical outcomes. This review comprehensively explores the molecular mechanisms underlying AURKA expression in HCC and its functional implications in cell migration, invasion, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, metastasis, stemness, and drug resistance. This work focuses on the clinical significance of AURKA as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for HCC. High levels of AURKA expression have been correlated with shorter overall and disease-free survival in various cohorts, highlighting its potential utility as a sensitive prognostic indicator. Recent insights into AURKA's role in modulating the tumour microenvironment, particularly immune cell recruitment, may provide valuable information for personalized treatment strategies. AURKA's critical involvement in modulating cellular pathways and its overexpression in cancer makes it an attractive target for anticancer therapies. This review discusses the evidence about novel and selective AURKA inhibitors for more effective treatments for HCC.

Abstract LB103: Cell-free DNA methylation as a noninvasive prognostic biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract The current noninvasive prognostic evaluation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using markers such as imaging features and serum biomarkers like alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is limited due to low sensitivity. Pathologic tumor features can enhance prognosis beyond imaging and AFP, yet pre-surgical percutaneous biopsies are invasive, not routinely pursued, and may not be representative of the entire tumor. There is a critical unmet need to develop noninvasive blood-based HCC biomarkers to guide therapeutic decisions. Epigenetic changes in circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) have shown promise in early cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Therefore, we aim to evaluate the potential of cfDNA methylation as a noninvasive predictor for pre-treatment prognostication in HCC patients. Using Illumina HumanMethylation450 array data of 377 HCC tumors and 50 adjacent normal tissues obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we systematically identified 158 HCC-related DNA methylation markers associated with overall survival (OS). Functional analyses of these markers indicated their roles in regulating gene expression and revealed biological pathways associated with HCC patient survival. We predicted an OS risk score utilizing the DNA methylation panel, referred to as “methRisk”, and validated its predictive power using the Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing data of HCC tumor tissue samples from 29 surgically resected patients. To assess the noninvasive prognostic value of these markers, we collected plasma cfDNA samples from an independent validation cohort of 52 HCC patients, and profiled the methylation patterns of these samples using our newly developed cost-effective cfDNA methylome sequencing assay, cfMethyl-Seq. We utilized random survival forest models combined with 10-fold cross-validation to predict the methRisk using the circulating markers. The cfDNA-based methRisk effectively stratifies patients into clinically relevant risk groups and predicts patient survival with high accuracy (3-year AUC = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.68-0.94). Integrating the cfDNA-based methRisk with existing risk indices like the Barcelona clinic liver cancer (BCLC) staging greatly improves the noninvasive prognostic assessments (3-year AUC = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.80-0.99). In summary, these findings indicate that cfDNA methylation is a promising noninvasive prognostic biomarker for HCC, providing a proof-of-concept for its potential clinical utility. Incorporating cfDNA methylation analysis into the existing noninvasive prognostic framework for HCC patients holds great potential for enhancing the effectiveness of current staging systems and optimizing patient selection for curative therapies like liver transplantation. Citation Format: Ran Hu, Benjamin Tran, Shuo Li, Mary L. Stackpole, Weihua Zeng, Yonggang Zhou, Andrew Melehy, Xianghong Zhou, Wenyuan Li, Vatche Agopian. Cell-free DNA methylation as a noninvasive prognostic biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 2 (Late-Breaking, Clinical Trial, and Invited Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(7_Suppl):Abstract nr LB103.

Long noncoding RNA small nucleolar RNA host genes as prognostic molecular biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma: A meta-analysis.

Recently, increasing data have suggested that the lncRNA small nucleolar RNA host genes (SNHGs) were aberrantly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the association between the prognosis of HCC and their expression remained unclear. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to determine the prognostic significance of lncRNA SNHGs in HCC. We systematically searched Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane Library for eligible articles published up to February 2024. The prognostic significance of SNHGs in HCC was evaluated by hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Odds ratios (ORs) were used to assess the clinicopathological features of SNHGs. This analysis comprised a total of 25 studies covering 2314 patients with HCC. The findings demonstrated that over-expressed SNHGs were associated with larger tumor size, multiple tumor numbers, poor histologic grade, earlier lymphatic metastasis, vein invasion, advanced tumor stage, portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT), and higher alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level, but not with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, and cirrhosis. In terms of prognosis, patients with higher SNHG expression were more likely to have shorter overall survival (OS), relapse-free survival (RFS), and disease-free survival (DFS). In conclusion, upregulation of SNHGs expression correlates with shorter OS, RFS, DFS, tumor size and numbers, histologic grade, lymphatic metastasis, vein invasion, tumor stage, PVTT, and AFP level, suggesting that SNHGs may serve as prognostic biomarkers in HCC.

Celestial Insights: Unraveling the Role of miR-3682-3p in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a formidable oncological challenge, calling for innovative therapeutic strategies to improve patient outcomes. MicroRNAs have emerged as key regulators in cancer, and miR-3682-3p shows potential as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in HCC. We conducted a comprehensive study to uncover its role in HCC biology, revealing dysregulation and clinical associations. Target gene analysis provided insights into potential molecular mechanisms. Moreover, we explored its impact on the tumor microenvironment, immune cell infiltration, and therapy responses. Our findings highlight miR-3682-3p as a promising candidate for further investigations and potential therapeutic strategies in HCC management.

E2F-mediated POLA2 upregulation is correlated with macrophage infiltration and poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the major histological type of primary liver cancer with a relatively poor prognosis, because most HCC cases are usually diagnosed at an advanced stage. Thus, it is essential to explore novel candidate biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis predication of HCC. HCC transcription sequencing data were downloaded and analyzed. POLA2 expression pattern was characterized in tumor development process. POLA2 expression was evaluated by western blotting. Kaplan-Meier plot was utilized to evaluate POLA2's ability for prognosis predication. Correlation analysis and enrichment analysis were performed to explore the functional role of POLA2 in HCC development. Knockdown of E2F1 or E2F4 was used to evaluate their ability in regulating POLA2 expression. CYBERSORT (https://cibersortx.stanford.edu/) was used to estimate the infiltration levels of immune cells. POLA2 was overexpressed in HCC. Moreover, western blotting results showed that POLA2 was upregulated by transcription factors E2F1 rather than E2F4 in HCC. POLA2 facilitated cell cycle progression, DNA replication and DNA repair. High POLA2 expression was correlated with poor overall survival in HCC patients. POLA2 induced macrophage infiltration in the tumor microenvironment by upregulating the expression CSF1 and VEGFA expression. POLA2 is a novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of HCC with potential clinical value.

Role of CCR1/5/7 in hepatocellular carcinoma: a study on prognostic evaluation, molecular subtyping, and association with immune infiltration.

This study aims to assess the prognostic value of the C-C motif chemokine receptor (CCR) gene family in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its relationship with immune infiltration and molecular subtypes of HCC. The evaluation of the GSE14520 dataset and TCGA database confirmed the prognostic significance of CCR. Building upon the correlation between CCR1, CCR5, and CCR7 and favorable prognosis, we further validated the prognostic importance of CCR1, CCR5, and CCR7 in ICGC database and an independent cohort from Guangxi autonomous region. Then, we constructed a risk prognosis model. Additionally, we observed significant positive correlations between CCR1, CCR5, and CCR7 and the infiltration of B cells, T cells, and macrophages in HCC. Subsequently, we conducted CCK assays, Transwell assays, and colony formation assays to evaluate the molecular biological functions of CCR1, CCR5, and CCR7. These experiments further confirmed that upregulation of CCR1, CCR5, and CCR7 can individually inhibit the proliferation, migration, and stemness of HCC cells. By analyzing the relationship between expression levels and tumor mutation frequency, we discovered that patients with high CCR1 expression were more likely to be classified as non-proliferative HCC. Similar conclusions were observed for CCR5 and CCR7. The association of CCR1, CCR5, and CCR7 with the molecular subtypes of HCC suggests that they may serve as intermediary molecules linking immune status and molecular subtypes in HCC. In summary, CCR1, CCR5, and CCR7 have the potential to serve as prognostic biomarkers for HCC and regulate HCC progression by influencing immune cell infiltration.

Plasma Cell-Free Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Gene Promoter Methylation as a Prognostic Biomarker for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Lack of biomarkers for follow-up after treatment is a clinical challenge. DNA methylation has been proposed to be a potential biomarker in HCC. However, there is still a lack of evidence of its clinical use. This study aimed to evaluate the value of using plasma Adenomatous Polyposis Coli promoter methylation level (APC-MET) as a potential biomarker in HCC treatment. Method: A total of 96 patients with HCC at BCLC stage B who underwent local tumor ablation treatment were prospectively included in this study. APC-MET was examined in the plasma of each patient before and 1 month after treatment. The prediction value of APC-MET for survival outcome and disease status after treatment was analyzed and adjusted with alpha-fetoprotein and protein induced by vitamin K absence-II using Cox regression analysis. Results: Univariate Cox regression analysis showed preoperative APC-MET >0 (HR, 2.9, 95% CI: 1.05–8.05, p = 0.041) and postoperative APC-MET >0 (HR, 3.47, 95% CI: 1.16–10.4, p = 0.026) were both predictors of death, and preoperative APC-MET >0 was a predictor of disease progression after treatment (HR, 2.04, 95% CI: 1.21–3.44, p = 0.007). In multivariate models, preoperative APC-MET >0 was a significant predictor of disease progression after adjusting with the other two traditional biomarkers (HR, 1.82, 95% CI: 1.05–3.17, p = 0.034). Conclusions: Hypermethylation of APC promoter appears to be a potential biomarker that could predict patient survival and disease progression outcomes in patients with intermediate-stage HCC after local ablation treatment.