title: Reduced organic anion transporter expression is a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis C patients: a propensity score matching study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Recent reports indicated that reduced SLC22A7 (a gene-encoding organic anion transporter 2) expression in noncancerous liver tissue predicts hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after curative resection. Our study aimed to elucidate the association between SLC22A7 expression and HCC development in chronic hepatitis C patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  HCC recurrence after local ablation therapy and SLC22A7 expression in noncancerous liver tissue were analyzed in 20 patients. Subsequently, the association between de novo HCC development and SLC22A7 expression was examined at baseline in 38 hepatitis C patients without HCC who subsequently developed HCC as well as in 76 hepatitis C patients who did not develop HCC and were matched for age, gender and stage of fibrosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the patients whose HCC had been cured, reduced SLC22A7 expression in noncancerous liver tissue was significantly associated with a high incidence of multifocal HCC recurrence. In patients without HCC at baseline, cumulative incidence of de novo HCC development was significantly higher with a reduced SLC22A7 expression than with a normal expression (p = 0.01). This difference remained significant among patients without known risk factors for HCC like age and advanced fibrosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Reduced SLC22A7 expression in the liver indicates a significant risk for HCC development in chronic hepatitis C, independently of other risk factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Musashino Red Cross Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yasui
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kudo
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurosaki
authors.forename: Shuya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muraoka
authors.forename: Nobuharu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tamaki
authors.forename: Shoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Takanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hosokawa
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Kotaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsunaga
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakanishi
authors.forename: Kaoru
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsuchiya
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Itakura
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Asahina
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Enomoto
authors.forename: Shigeki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arii
authors.forename: Namiki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Izumi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000737:chemistry / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D029362:Organic Anion Transporters, Sodium-Independent / Q000032:analysis*; D057216:Propensity Score; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D029362:Organic Anion Transporters, Sodium-Independent; C490280:SLC22A7 protein, human