Peritumoral overexpression of ZBP‑89 is associated with unfavorable disease‑free survival rates in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma following hepatectomy

Wang,Qiu‑Shuang; Chen,Chen; Zhan,Jing; Fang,Xie‑Fan; Chen,George  G.; Yang,Sheng‑Li; Chen,Ren‑Wang; Tong,Fan; Hu,Jian‑Li

doi:10.3892/ol.2018.8353

Peritumoral overexpression of ZBP‑89 is associated with unfavorable disease‑free survival rates in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma following hepatectomy

Authors:
- Qiu‑Shuang Wang
- Chen Chen
- Jing Zhan
- Xie‑Fan Fang
- George G. Chen
- Sheng‑Li Yang
- Ren‑Wang Chen
- Fan Tong
- Jian‑Li Hu
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Affiliations: Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA, Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, SAR, P.R. China
Published online on: March 26, 2018 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2018.8353
Pages: 7828-7836
Copyright: © Wang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Previous studies have revealed that the peritumoral environment has a profound influence on tumor initiation and progression. Zinc‑binding protein‑89 (ZBP‑89) has been observed to be involved with tumor development, recurrence, and metastasis. High intratumoral expression of ZBP‑89 has been associated with improved prognosis in several tumor types. However, the prognostic values of peritumoral expression of ZBP‑89 remain to be elucidated in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following curative resection. In the present study, peritumoral ZBP‑89 expression was examined using immunohistochemistry in 102 HCC patients who had received curative hepatectomy. Expression of ZBP‑89 protein was positive in 66.3% of the peritumoral samples from 102 HCC patients. HCC patients with high peritumoral ZBP‑89 expression exhibited significantly shorter disease‑free survival (DFS) times (P=0.012) than those patients with low peritumoral ZBP‑89 expression. Additionally, high ZBP‑89 expression in peritumoral HCC tissue was positively associated with the presence of liver cirrhosis. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses demonstrated that albumin levels ≤35 g/l, multiple tumors, tumor sizes ≥5 cm, and macroscopic vascular invasion may serve as independent prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) [hazard ratio (HR)=2.031; P=0.014] in patients with HCC. The multivariate Cox regression model identified that high ZBP‑89 expression, multiple tumors and macroscopic vascular invasion were independent prognostic factors for shorter DFS durations. High expression of ZBP‑89 in peritumoral HCC tissues was associated with a shorter DFS in HCC patients following curative hepatectomy. Additionally, high ZBP‑89 expression in peritumoral HCC tissue was positively associated with the presence of liver cirrhosis in HCC patients, indicating that cirrhosis accompanied by high ZBP‑89 expression may be a contributing factor to the poor prognosis of patients with HCC. Therefore, peritumoral ZBP‑89 expression may be a good prognostic marker to predict DFS time in HCC patients following curative hepatectomy and may provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms of HCC initiation.

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