title: N-WASP is highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma and associated with poor prognosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Neural Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP) mediates migration and invasion in cancer cells, but its expression and clinicopathologic and prognostic importance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unknown. The present study was designed to address these issues.
  
  
  METHODS
  N-WASP expression was first analyzed by Western blotting in 19 paired HCC and paratumoral liver (PTL) tissues. We further evaluated N-WASP expression immunohistochemically in samples from 119 patients with HCC. The clinicopathologic and prognostic importance of N-WASP expression were also investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Western blotting showed that N-WASP expression was up-regulated in 15 of 19 HCC tissues (79%), compared with PTL ones. The N-WASP-positive rate in immunohistochemical staining also was greater in HCC (63/119, 53%) than that in PTL tissues (8/119, 6%). The up-regulated N-WASP expression in HCC tissues was correlated with absence of capsule formation and predicted less overall and disease-free survival. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that N-WASP was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival and was marginally important for disease-free survival.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data establish that N-WASP is highly expressed in HCC and its strong prognostic importance. Therefore, the gene/protein might serve as a potential therapeutic target for HCC.
authors.affiliation: Key laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Hepatic, Biliary & Pancreatic Surgery Unit I, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ke-Min
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Fang-Fang
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Xiao-Juan
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Bao-Cai
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Xing
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D015854:Up-Regulation; D051317:Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Protein, Neuronal / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C495771:WASL protein, human; D051317:Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Protein, Neuronal