Significance of decoy receptor 3 in sera of hepatocellular carcinoma patients.
OBJECTIVE
Decoy receptor 3 (DcR3), a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, is amplified and over-expressed in various cancers. The objective of the present study was to investigate the concentration of DcR3 in sera of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and its clinical significance.


METHODS
Serum concentrations of DcR3 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 67 patients with HCC, 8 with liver cirrhosis, 17 with cholecystitis, and in 28 healthy individuals. Immunohistochemistry was employed to access protein expression of DcR3 in the corresponding HCC tissues.


RESULTS
Serum concentrations of DcR3 in patients with HCC or cirrhosis were significantly higher than in healthy individuals (P < 0.01). Moreover, serum concentrations of DcR3 in HCC patients were associated with TNM stage, para-cirrhosis, capsular infiltration, and metastasis or recurrence of disease (P < 0.05). There was a positive correlation between the serum concentration of DcR3 and protein expression in HCC tissues (r = 0.472, P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
The high serum concentration of DcR3 might play a certain role in pathogenesis, progress, and metastasis of HCC. Moreover, DcR3 might serve as a valuable molecular indicator in early diagnosis and contribute to predicting the clinical outcome in HCC patients.
Department of Pathology and Pathophysiology, Medical College of Jishou University, Jishou 416000, People's Republic of China.
Meisongzhu
M
Yang
Gang
G
Chen
Yiwu
Y
Dang
Dianzhong
D
Luo
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000097:blood*; D002764:Cholecystitis / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D053323:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Member 6b / Q000097:blood*; D012008:Recurrence
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D053323:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Member 6b