title: Akt2 expression correlates with prognosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: Akt, a down-stream target of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase, plays multiple roles in carcinogenesis. To elucidate its role in hepatocarcinogenesis, we immunohistochemically investigated the expression of Akt protein (Akt1 and Akt2) in tumor and non-tumor tissues from 56 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). High expression of Akt2 in HCC tissues was detected in 21 cases (38%) while Akt1 expression was moderate or less in all cases. Low expression of Akt2 was associated with histopathological differentiation, portal invasion and number of tumor nodules (p=0.026, 0.023, and 0.001, respectively). Univariate analysis showed that Akt2, histopathological differentiation, and portal vein invasion were significant prognostic factors (p=0.001, 0.028, and 0.006, respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed that in addition to histopathological differentiation, Akt2 was an independent prognostic marker (risk ratio for cancer relapse, 6.35, p=0.012). In contrast, Akt1 expression did not correlate with any clinicopathological features. Our findings suggest that Akt2, but not Akt1, is a novel independent predictor for the development and progression of HCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Clinical Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Xundi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sakon
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagano
authors.forename: Nobuaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hiraoka
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Nobuyasu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Keizo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dono
authors.forename: Shoji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakamori
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Umeshita
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Nariaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Matsuura
authors.forename: Morito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monden
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015153:Blotting, Western; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis