title: miR-203 expression predicts outcome after liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic liver.
abstract: Many recent studies have shown the utility of microRNAs (miRs) as cancer-related biomarkers. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the correlation between miR-203 expression and prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cirrhosis after liver transplantation (LT). Sixty-six HCC samples from patients who had undergone LT were examined for miR-203 expression using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The data were correlated with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis. Patient survival was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Cox regression was used for multivariate analysis of prognostic factors. We found that miR-203 expression was low in tumor tissues of patients (n = 16) with post-LT HCC recurrence in comparison with those in patients with non-recurrence (n = 50) (P = 0.003). Patients with higher miR-203 expression had significantly better recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) (P = 0.016 for RFS; P = 0.014 for OS). Multivariate analysis revealed that high-miR-203 expression was an independent predictor of good prognosis (HR 0.202, P = 0.006 for RFS; HR 0.332, P = 0.013 for OS). Our results suggest that miR-203 could be a novel prognostic marker in HCC patients who have undergone LT and might also be a potential therapeutic target.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Shanghai First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 85 Wujin Road, Shanghai 200080, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Yuan
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zhong-Bo
authors.initials: ZB
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Jun-Wei
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Jun-Yi
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Guo-Qiang
authors.initials: GQ
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Hua-Mei
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Zhi-Hai
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Peng
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C546703:MIRN203 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs