Clinicopathologic significance of the expression of Snail in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background/Aims

E-cadherin is involved in intercellular binding and cellular polarity formation. Snail is a key regulator of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and is closely associated with tumor invasiveness due to its ability to suppress E-cadherin expression. We investigated the expressions of E-cadherin and Snail in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue to determine the clinical significance of these proteins in HCC.

Methods

Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the expressions of E-cadherin and Snail in resected tissues from 59 patients diagnosed with HCC. We also evaluated the relationship between the expressions of these two molecules in HCC tissue and clinicopathologic factors in the patients.

Results

Immunohistochemistry showed that Snail was stained in 20.3% of the HCC tissues and 3.4% of noncancerous tissues. Snail was not stained in the area of E-cadherin expression. The expression of Snail in the HCC tissue was associated with poorly differentiated HCC (P=0.028). The expression of Snail without E-cadherin staining in HCC tissue was significantly associated with postoperative HCC recurrence (P=0.013).

Conclusions

The expression of Snail in HCC tissue was associated with decreased expression of E-cadherin and poorly differentiated HCC. The expression of Snail without E-cadherin staining in HCC was associated with postoperative recurrence.     

Clinicopathologic significance of mitotic arrest defective protein 2 overexpression in hepatocellular carcinoma

Mitotic arrest defective protein 2 (MAD2) gene plays a central role in the mitotic checkpoint. Elevated MAD2 expression was observed in a number of human malignancies; its role in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma is still not understood and is controversial. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinicopathologic significance of MAD2 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma. The MAD2 protein and its messenger RNA levels were measured in hepatocellular carcinomas, high-grade dysplastic nodules, and their paired nontumorous liver tissues by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry. The results showed that MAD2 at both messenger RNA and protein levels was overexpressed in 8 of 9 high-grade dysplastic nodules and in 51 of 58 hepatocellular carcinomas, including 12 of 14 unifocal small hepatocellular carcinomas. There was a tendency for MAD2 expression to increase in the process of this multistep carcinogenesis. A significantly high tumor MAD2 immunostaining was associated with the progression of histologic grade and the overall low survival. In conclusion, MAD2 is overexpressed frequently in hepatocellular carcinoma, including high-grade dysplastic nodules and early-stage small hepatocellular carcinoma, indicating that overexpression of MAD2 plays a role in the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma. It may be an early event in hepatocarcinogenesis and could be used as a potential prognostic indicator.     

甲状腺乳头状癌中p53蛋白三维空间结构改变的临床病理研究

目的 深入研究p53蛋白空间结构的改变在甲状腺乳头状癌（PTC）中的临床病理意义,为PTC的恶性度评价提供客观的指标。方法 采用PCR－SSCP,DNA序列分析,以及利用国际共享资源计算机重构p53蛋白三维空间结构和有关分析软件等技术对41例PTC进行分析。结果 p53基因突变Ⅰ组（15例）和未突变Ⅱ组（26例）的年龄,性别,原发瘤大小（T）,淋巴结转移率（N）和远处转移率（M）无明显差异（P＞0．05）。9例（9／15,Ⅰb)组的氨基酸残基突变表现为核心功能域和碱性域的变化或核心功能域严重缺损。p53蛋白核心功能域结构的改变能直接抑制它与靶DNA的结合;碱性域结构的改变能间接抑制p53蛋白与靶DNA的结构。6例（6／15,Ⅰa组）的氨基酸残基突变位于功能域之外。Ⅰb组的淋巴结转移率（77．78％）明显高于Ⅰa组（P＜0．01）。Ⅰb组的远处转移率（55．56％）高于Ⅰa组（P＜0．05）。结论 p53蛋白三维空间结构的改变是PTC演进与异质化的形态学基础之一,它可以选择高危PTC临床病例提供确凿的证据。     

Clinicopathologic features and genetic alterations in endometrioid carcinoma of the uterus with villoglandular differentiation

Serious and endometrioid carcinomas differ dramatically in their clinical behavior; however, the specific significance of villoglandular (papillary) differentiation in endometrioid carcinoma has been studied rarely. We compared the clinicopathologic features and genetic alterations in 28 villoglandular endometrioid carcinomas compared with 60 nonvilloglandular endometrioid carcinomas and 60 healthy women. The study revealed a slight increase in the frequency of early-stage disease in villoglandular tumors compared with nonvilloglandular tumors. No differences were observed in the age at onset or cellular grade. The oncogene and susceptibility gene analyses revealed a positive association of K-ras oncogene mutation and germline variants of the cytochrome P-450 1A1 (CYP1A1) gene and an inverse association of the p53PIN3 variant with villoglandular carcinomas, whereas no differences were observed in the c-erbB2/neu oncogene amplification or the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase germline variant. Finally, a positive association was found between CYP1A1 and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase variants and the presence of papillary differentiation in the myometrial component. The results suggest that the villoglandular differentiation pattern arises without aggressive clinicopathologic features in a genetic background of transforming and carcinogen-metabolism genes, characteristic of estrogen-related endometrial tumors (type 1) not exhibiting an unfavorable prognosis.     

人肝癌组织中CD34和血管内皮生长因子的表达及微血管密度的 …

目的 探讨ＣＤ３４和血管内皮生长因子（ＶＥＧＦ）在人肝癌组织中的表达及微血管密度（ＭＶＤ）的病理意义。方法 对３０例人肝细胞肝癌９ＨＣＣ）及相应癌旁组织,１０例肝硬化,５例轻度慢性肝炎和４例正常肝组织,进行了ＣＤ３４、ＶＥＧＦ免疫组织化学ＳＰ法检测,对ＣＤ３４阳性血管进行ＭＶＤ计数,对ＶＥＧＦ进行半定量计数,并结合肝癌的病理特征进行分析。结果 ＨＣＣ组织中ＣＤ３４呈广泛,窦隙状阳性表达,而在正常及     

Parkin gene alterations in hepatocellular carcinoma

The Parkin gene is an extremely large gene (1.5 Mb) within the highly unstable FRA6E common fragile site (CFS) region, which is frequently altered in ovarian, breast, and hepatocellular carcinomas. Because Parkin/FRA6E has genomic similarities to FHIT/FRA3B and WWOX/FRA16D, two other large tumor-suppressor genes that are within CFS regions, we were interested in characterizing Parkin gene alterations and their possible association with cancer. After analyzing 50 cancer-derived cell lines including 11 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines, we found that one HCC cell line, PLC/PRF/5, had a detectable homozygous deletion encompassing exon 3. Using quantitative duplex PCR and fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis to characterize the copy number changes of Parkin exons in HCC cell lines, we found that 4 of 11 HCC cell lines had heterozygous deletions of Parkin exons and one, Hep3B, had an exon duplication. Parkin protein expression was significantly decreased or absent in all 11 HCC cell lines. Furthermore, more than 50% of HCC primary tumors had decreased Parkin expression compared to that in normal liver tissue. Parkin gene-transfected PLC5 and Hep3B cells grew more slowly than vector-only transfectants and also showed increased sensitivity to apoptosis induced by cell-cycle inhibitors. Therefore, we suggest that Parkin may be involved in tumor suppression and that the loss of Parkin contributes to the development of hepatocarcinoma.     

Clinicopathologic study on clear cell hepatocellular carcinoma

In order to study the clinicopathologic characteristics of the clear cell variant of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 215 consecutive cases measuring less than 5 cm in diameter were reviewed. The cases were divided into clear cell HCC (20 cases); focal clear cell HCC (77 cases); and non-clear cell HCC (118 cases). Clinical and pathological findings were compared among these groups. Clear cell HCC was moderately differentiated in 80% of cases and the incidence was not related to tumor size. The male to female ratio was 2.3:1, lower than the 6.9:1 of non-clear cell HCC. The association rate with liver cirrhosis was 90%, higher than the 59.3% of non-clear cell HCC. Three- and five-year survival rates, and no recurrence time were 54.5%, 33.3%, and 564 days, respectively, lower than the findings of 74.3%, 46.1%, and 770 days for non-clear cell HCC. But there is no significant difference in prognosis between both groups. Ultrastructurally, clear cells showed abundant glycogen storage and a variable degree of fat vacuoles, with a marked reduction of the number and size of organelles in the 8 cases examined. Non-clear cells of focal clear cell and non-clear cell HCC showed a moderate degree of glycogen storage in 85.7% and 28.6% of the seven cases examined from each group, with significant difference. It was concluded that clear cell HCC occurs mostly in the moderately differentiated form and is characterized by high female prevalence, high rate of association with liver cirrhosis, and has no significant difference in prognosis compared with non-clear cell HCC.     

肝细胞癌组织中IMP3与IGF2表达对预后评估的临床病理学意义

目的 探讨癌基因胰岛素样生长因子2 mRNA结合蛋白3(insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 3,IMP3)和胰岛素样生长因子2(insulin-like growth factor 2,IGF2)在肝细胞癌(hepatocellular carcinoma,HCC)组织中表达的预后意义.方法 采用免疫组化SP法对92例HCC及其癌旁良性组织中IMP3及IGF2的表达进行检测,结合临床生物学指标及生存时间进行统计学分析.结果 HCC组织中IMP3和IGF2阳性率均明显高于癌旁组织(P均<0.01);IMP3表达与组织分化程度、是否转移、ACJJ分期、门脉癌栓及Ki-67表达均密切相关;IGF2的表达与肿瘤组织学分级和Ki-67蛋白表达相关(P均<0.05).IMP3与IGF2表达呈显著正相关(rs=0.265,P<0.05).生存分析显示,IMP3阳性表达的患者总生存期明显低于不表达的患者(Log-rank=16.854,P=0.000);IMP3和IGF2同时表达与二者单独表达的患者生存期差异有统计学意义(P=0.000和0.008).进一步分析证明IMP3是HCC生存期的独立影响因素(HR:0.473,95%CI:0.270～0.829,P=0.009).结论 联合检测HCC组织中IMP3和IGF2的表达对其诊断及预后有一定的价值,二者可能成为HCC生物标记中的新指标.     

Clinicopathologic and prognostic significance of the histologic activity of noncancerous liver tissue in hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma

We prospectively studied 66 patients infected with the hepatitis B virus who underwent liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to evaluate the influence of the histologic activity of noncancerous liver tissue on clinicopathologic features and prognosis. Based on the histologic activity index (HAI) score of nontumorous liver tissue, patients were classified into 3 groups: mild, moderate, or severe hepatitis. Overall, higher HAI scores were more frequent in patients with poorer liver function: lower serum albumin levels and higher indocyanine green retention at 15 minutes. Moreover, patients with moderate hepatitis had more frequent venous invasion, and the tumor size decreased with increasing HAI scores. Similar results were observed when the fibrosis category was excluded in the calculation of HAI scores. The overall or disease-free survival rates did not differ significantly among the 3 groups of patients. However, higher fibrosis scores were associated significantly with shorter disease-free survival rates. HAI scores correlated significantly with certain clinicopathologic features. In patients with hepatitis B-related HCC, a higher fibrosis score in the nontumorous liver tissue, but not histologic hepatitic activity, seems to be a significant factor predisposing to shorter survival.     

Microsatellite alterations in hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

A series of 20 hepatocellular carcinomas and 8 intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas was screened from the Korean population for microsatellite alterations, including a loss of heterozygosity and replication errors using nine microsatellite markers containing several genes. The microsatellite results and our previous comparative genomic hybridization results of two tumors were compared at each locus, and the correlations between these and clinicopathologic variables were examined. The most characteristic findings were found at 13q. Replication errors were prevalent at D13S160 (13q21.2 approximately q31) and D13S292(13q12). The incidence of loss of heterozygosity, however, was higher at D13S153 (13q14.1 approximately q14.3) and D13S265(13q31 approximately q32). In contrast, there were higher deletion frequencies observed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and higher amplification frequencies observed in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma at 13q in our previous comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) study. Higher frequencies of replication errors were observed at D16S408 (13q12 approximately q21) and D16S504(13q23 approximately q24) in the HCC. This study found that significant differences in the patterns of genetic instability of microsatellites were dependent on the chromosomal loci. It is believed that certain genes at altered CGH regions, which are relevant to the development and/or progression of these cancers, are activated by different mutation mechanisms.     

34例滑膜肉瘤分子遗传学改变的诊断学意义

目的 探讨石蜡包埋滑膜肉瘤组织中t(x；18)(p11．2；q11．2)染色体易位融合基因SYT-SSX mRNA表达的诊断学意义和应用价值。方法 收集滑膜肉瘤标本34例，以14例梭形细胞肉瘤和小圆细胞肉瘤做对照(包括2例纤维肉瘤、2例平滑肌肉瘤、1例恶性神经鞘膜瘤、4例Ewing肉瘤、2例腺泡型横纹肌肉瘤、2例恶性黑色素瘤、1例血管外皮瘤)。在进行免疫组织化学指标检测的基础上，用一步法逆转录-聚合酶链反应(RT-PCR)技术检测34例石蜡包埋滑膜肉瘤组织中SYT-SSX的表达。结果 34例滑膜肉瘤中30例获得有效RNA，28例(93．3％)检出SYT-SSX融合基因表达。其中14例表达SYT-SSXl型者中10例为双相型，9例表达SYT-SSX2型者中5例为单相分化型，5例SYT-SSXl／2均未检出。对照组均未检出SYT-SSX基因的表达。结论 SYT-SSX融合基因表达可作为诊断滑膜肉瘤新的分子诊断指标。一步法RT-PCR是一种理想而可行的用于石蜡包埋滑膜肉瘤组织SYT-SSX融合基因检测的分子诊断技术。     

Genetic alterations in hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

In the following study, we used comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) to screen and compare for genetic alterations of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic choalgiocarcinoma (ICC). The studies showed distinctive features of genetic alterations between the two tumors. Characteristic abnormal changes for HCC were 1q gain and loss of 4q, 10q and 13q regions. In contrast, gains of 5p, 7p, 13q and 20q were more predominant in ICC. Losses of 16q, 17p, and 18q, and gain of 8q region showed a similar high frequency of incidence in both tumors. The most striking and different findings were 1q amplification in HCC and 20q gain in ICC. Our data indicate that ICC shows the pattern of genetic alterations similar to pancreatic and colorectal cancers. This suggests that the genetic alterations in tumorigenesis show a similar pattern depending on the origin of cells, not the organ.     

Correlation between clinical characteristics, survival and genetic alterations in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma from Saudi Arabia

Amplification of the two oncogenes ERBB2 and MYC and deletion of the tumor suppressor gene TP53 are frequently encountered in cancerous tissues. The purpose of this study was to use the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique for the assessment of ERBB2 and MYC amplification and TP53 deletion, and to relate these molecular markers to clinical and pathologic factors in Saudi patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The study was conducted on 40 paraffin-embedded tissue samples originally taken from either hepatitis C virus (HCV)- or HBV-infected patients using the FISH technique. The level of ERBB2, MYC, and TP53 in the malignant group was significantly increased as compared to the control group. Of the 40 patients, 3 (7.5%) had amplification of ERBB2 gene, 4 (10%) different patients had amplification of MYC, and 26 patients (65%) had evidence of deletion of at least one allele on chromosome 17 for the TP53 gene in a high proportion of cells. There was a significant correlation between amplification of MYC oncogene and the number of tumor masses. Moreover, significant correlation was observed between poorly differentiated tumors when compared with moderate or well-differentiated tumors when MYC was analyzed. On the other hand, MYC failed to reveal any significant association between oncogene amplification and other clinicopathologic variables examined. Univariate analysis revealed a strong association between deletion of TP53 and multiple tumor mass (P< 0.001). No statistical correlation could be detected between deletion of TP53 and tumor size, grade, stage, and tumor differentiation. No significant difference could be detected in the mean survival time of patients positive for the alteration of the genes compared to the patients who showed no alterations for the same genes. However, when the stage of the tumor was analyzed, there was a significant difference in the mean survival time between patients who showed gene alterations compared to patients with no changes in the studied genes. When overall survival was analyzed, only patients with MYC amplification had a lower median survival (20.75 months) than patients without MYC amplification (35.82, P=0.009). Genetic alterations of ERBB2 and TP53 genes had no effect on survival 2 (see Results). The combination of ERBB2, MYC, and TP53 could be useful markers to stratify patients into different risk groups.     

Expression and significance of ETFDH in hepatocellular carcinoma

The ETFDH (electron transfer flavoprotein dehydrogenase) gene mutations are reported to be a major cause of riboflavin-responsive multiple acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenation deficiency (MADD). However, the role of ETFDH in the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of ETFDH in HCC. Immunohistochemical staining of the 207 HCC tissue microarray showed that expression of ETFDH was significantly decreased in HCC compared with the matching noncancerous hepatic tissues (P < 0.001). Moreover, ETFDH expression levels were found to be correlated with AFP levels (P = 0.011). Intriguingly, ETFDH expression levels were significantly lower in poorly differentiated or undifferentiated HCCs as compared to the well or moderately differentiated cases (P = 0.001). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that low tumor expression of ETFDH was associated with a poorer overall survival in patients with HCC (P = 0.024). Furthermore, multivariate analysis showed that ETFDH (P = 0.047) was an independent predictor of overall survival. Our findings may shed new light on the identification of new prognostic marker for HCC.     

P-糖蛋白在肝细胞癌中的表达及临床研究

目的：探讨Ｐ－糖蛋白在细胞癌组织中表达及临床意义。方法：采用免疫组化法对７２例肝细胞癌，９例正常肝组织进行Ｐ－糖蛋白测定，作相关临床因素分析。结果：肝细胞癌组织中Ｐ－糖蛋白的阳性表达率为４４．０％，正常肝组织表达率为２２．０％（Ｐ〈０．０５）。Ｐ－糖蛋白的表达与肝癌的组织分型、分级及预后无明显相关性，并且化疗并不影响Ｐ－糖蛋白阳性表达病人的预后。结论：Ｐ－糖蛋白在肝细胞癌中的过表达，提示其在肝细胞     

Genetic alterations of the HCCS1 gene in Korean hepatocellular carcinoma

We analyzed the gene mutations and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of the HCCS1 gene using intragenic polymorphic markers in a series of 88 primary HCCs. We found two sequence variations at exon 5 and 14 in both normal and tumor DNAs of case 50 and 51, respectively. The variation in case 50 led to a reading frameshift and a premature stop (TGA) at codon 125 and case 51 showed amino acid change at codon 448 (Val-->Ala, GTG-->GCG). Interestingly, these variations were not found in peripheral lymphocytes of 69 normal individuals and 227 cancer patients (86 HCC, 75 unselected gastric cancer, and 66 breast cancer), suggesting that these two variations are mutation, not polymorphism. In addition, we found 14 novel intragenic polymorphic sites in the HCCS1 gene. Thirty-two (47%) of sixty-eight informative cases showed allelic loss at at least one or more intragenic polymorphic sites, but there was no significant relationship between the frequency of LOH and clinicopathologic parameters. These results suggest that mutation of the HCCS1 gene might not be a main inactivation mechanism in the development of Korean HCC and that the HCCS1 gene might be involved in acceleration of the tumorigenic process in Korean HCC.     

青少年肾细胞癌的临床病理及分子遗传学研究

目的 探讨青少年肾细胞癌的临床病理特征、遗传学改变、鉴别诊断及预后.方法 对46例青少年肾细胞癌进行光镜观察及免疫组织化学染色,随访并复习相关文献.对46例肿瘤进行von Hippel-Lindau(VHL)基因区域杂合性缺失(LOH)及VHL基因突变筛查.结果 共诊断19例Xp11.2易位/TFE3基因融合相关性肾癌(Xp11 RCC)、9例透明细胞癌、17例乳头状肾细胞癌(PRCC)和1例不能分类肾细胞癌.19例Xp11 RCC均TFE3阳性,而TFEB阴性.8例肿瘤具有巢状和乳头状结构形态类似t(X;17)ASPL-TFE3型肾癌,6例肿瘤组织学类似t(X;1)PRCC-TFE3型肾癌,4例肿瘤形态像透明细胞癌,1例肿瘤组织学形态文献中未被检索到,表现为细胞核呈毛玻璃样,核仁不明显,可见核沟,肿瘤间质见大量黏液.LOH及VHL突变检测结果显示,仅1例透明细胞癌和1例2型PRCC存在LOH,并且该2型PRCC的VHL基因的一个剪切位点存在胚系突变,553+5 G→C.其余45例均未检测出VHL突变.统计学分析表明TFE3阳性肾细胞癌比TFE3阴性肾细胞癌更倾向于高病理分期(pT3/pT4),并且预后较差(P=0.035).结论 青少年肾细胞癌表现出不同的组织学形态以及分子遗传学背景.其中Xp11 RCC为最常见的肾癌亚型.TFE3阳性肾细胞癌的预后要差于TFE3阴性肾细胞癌.     

Clinical significance of cell cycle inhibitors in hepatocellular carcinoma

It is well accepted that cell cycle regulators are strongly implicated in the progression of cancer development. p16 and p27 are potent cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors involved in G1 phase progression, and are regarded as adverse prognostic biomarkers for various types of cancers. It has been reported that the main mechanism for p16 inactivation is aberrant DNA methylation, while p27 is exclusively inactivated by proteasome-mediated protein degradation. We have found that p27 is decreased in around half of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs), and in some cases p27 is inactivated by inappropriate interaction with cyclin D1/CDK4 complexes. In such cases, p16 is concomitantly inactivated through DNA methylation. Taking into consideration the complex interaction between p16 and p27, a comprehensive analysis including p16 and p27 would be useful for predicting the prognosis of HCC patients.     

Pattern of fibronectin in hepatocellular carcinoma and its significance

Fibronectin is a multifunctional large molecular weight glycoprotein that can bind extra-cellular and cellular components. The aim of the present study was to evaluate expression of fibronectin and its significance in cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A few previous studies have shown abnormal over- expression of fibronectin in cases of HCC. Expression of the fibronectin protein was studied in eleven cases of HCC by immunohistochemical method. Fibronectin was seen to localize predominantly in perisinusoidal region and strong positivity was noted in other fibrotic areas. Positivity around nests of cells and tumor nodules was noted in 8/11 cases of HCC and faint cytoplasmic positivity in tumor cells was seen in 5/11 cases. Staining pattern of fibronectin in HCC was definitely abnormal but decreased in the present study. The controversial results as seen in few previous studies also have been partially explained in the present article and further studies using larger sample size is suggested to clarify the issue.