title: Classification and prediction of survival in hepatocellular carcinoma by gene expression profiling.
abstract: We analyzed global gene expression patterns of 91 human hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) to define the molecular characteristics of the tumors and to test the prognostic value of the expression profiles. Unsupervised classification methods revealed two distinctive subclasses of HCC that are highly associated with patient survival. This association was validated via 5 independent supervised learning methods. We also identified the genes most strongly associated with survival by using the Cox proportional hazards survival analysis. This approach identified a limited number of genes that accurately predicted the length of survival and provides new molecular insight into the pathogenesis of HCC. Tumors from the low survival subclass have strong cell proliferation and antiapoptosis gene expression signatures. In addition, the low survival subclass displayed higher expression of genes involved in ubiquitination and histone modification, suggesting an etiological involvement of these processes in accelerating the progression of HCC. In conclusion, the biological differences identified in the HCC subclasses should provide an attractive source for the development of therapeutic targets (e.g., HIF1a) for selective treatment of HCC patients. Supplementary material for this article can be found on the HEPATOLOGY Web site (http://interscience.wiley.com/jpages/0270-9139/suppmat/index.html)
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Carcinogenesis, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4255, USA.
authors.forename: Ju-Seog
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: In-Sun
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Jeonghoon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heo
authors.forename: Diego F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Calvisi
authors.forename: Zongtang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Tania
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Roskams
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Durnez
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Demetris
authors.forename: Snorri S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Thorgeirsson
mesh_terms: D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality