title: P48 is a predictive marker for outcome of postoperative interferon-alpha treatment in patients with hepatitis B virus infection-related hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Postoperative interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) therapy improved survival in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The identification of predictive markers of outcome will help to select patients who are most likely to benefit from treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  An immunohistochemical study of P48 was performed on specimens that were collected from patients in a randomized trial who received postoperative IFN-alpha therapy (Group 1; n = 80 patients) and who did not receive postoperative IFN-alpha therapy (Group 2; n = 75 patients). Positive P48 expression was graded as >/=20% positive cells in 1 sample.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighty-one patients were positive for P48, and 74 patients were negative for P48. The clinicopathologic data were comparable between patients with P48-negative and P48-positive staining. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in P48-positive patients were better than that in P48-negative patients in Group 1 (DFS, P = .036; OS, P = .014), however, DFS and OS did not differ between patients with positive and negative P48 in Group 2. OS in P48-positive patients from Group 1 was better than that in patients with P48-positive patients from Group 2 (OS, P = .001) but did not differ when P48 was negative. In Group 1, the risk factors for DFS were cirrhosis and P48 staining, and the risk factors for OS were tumor differentiation and P48 staining. Receiver operating curve analysis indicated that, in the first 2 years of DFS, combined cirrhosis and P48 had good predictive accuracy; and, in the first 4 years of OS, combined tumor differentiation and P48 had good predictive accuracy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  P48 was useful as a predictive marker of outcome after postoperative IFN-alpha treatment in patients with HBV-related HCC.
authors.affiliation: Liver Cancer Institute and Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yong-Bing
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Ju-Bo
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wei-Zhong
authors.initials: WZ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Hong-Bin
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Wei-Dong
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Peng-Yuan
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.forename: Bo-Heng
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhao-You
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Hui-Chuan
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery / Q000821:virology; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D050834:Interferon-Stimulated Gene Factor 3, gamma Subunit / Q000032:analysis*; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery / Q000821:virology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011379:Prognosis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D050834:Interferon-Stimulated Gene Factor 3, gamma Subunit; D016898:Interferon-alpha