title: Clinicopathological significance of nuclear factor-κB activation in hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) is a critical signaling mediator in inflammation, apoptosis resistance and oncogenesis. It has been reported that NF-κB is activated in several cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Studies of genetic disruptions in mice also suggest that NF-κB plays critical roles in hepatocarcinogenesis. The aim of the present study is to characterize NF-κB activation and correlate it with the degree of malignancy in HCC.
  
  
  METHODS
  To examine the correlation between the positivity of the nuclear p50 subunit and HCC recurrence, we analyzed immunostaining of the NF-κB p50 subunit in two groups of HCC samples with known prognosis and Akt phosphorylation status: 49 patients showing early recurrence within 6 months (group A) and 50 patients who were recurrence-free for at least for 3 years (group B).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In group A, positive nuclear staining of p50 was shown in 18 cases (36.7%), whereas only one case (2.0%) in group B had positive nuclear staining of p50 (P = 2.48839 × 10(-5) ). This suggests a positive relationship between nuclear p50 and early recurrence and advanced HCC in humans. The presence of phosphorylated Akt correlated with nuclear staining of p50 in HCCs in group A (R(2)  = 0.213, P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that nuclear staining of p50 was clearly associated with early recurrent HCC, and the Akt pathway might play a role in NF-κB activation in a subset of early recurrent HCC.
authors.affiliation: Pathology Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute Department of Cell Biology, JFCR Cancer Institute Department of Pathology, Keio University, School of Medicine, Tokyo Department of General Surgery, Hokkaido University, Graduate School of Medicine, and Department of Gastroenterology, Hokkaido University, Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yokoo
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yasuda
authors.forename: Kazuaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakanishi
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chuma
authors.forename: Toshiya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kamiyama
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Todo
authors.forename: Setsuo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hirohashi
authors.forename: Michiie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sakamoto