title: A possible role of microRNAs as predictive markers for the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation.
abstract: With favourable 5-year survival rates up to 75%, liver transplantation (LT) is the treatment of choice for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Nonetheless, tumour recurrence after LT remains a challenge. The aim of this retrospective study was to develop a predictive score for tumour recurrence after LT by combining clinical parameters with HCC biomarkers (microRNA). A microRNA (miRNA) microarray analysis was used to compare miRNA expression patterns in tissue samples of 40 patients with and without HCC recurrence after LT. In a screening cohort (n = 18), the miRNA analysis identified significant differences in the expression of 13 miRNAs in patients with tumour recurrence. Using the most significant miRNAs in this screening cohort, we could develop a predictive score, which combined the expression levels of miR-214, miR-3187 and the Milan criteria, and we could define low- and high-risk groups for tumour recurrence and death. The above score was evaluated in a second and independent cohort (n = 22). In contrast to the Milan criteria alone, this score was significantly associated with tumour recurrence. Our analysis indicated that the use of a specific miRNA expression pattern in combination with a limited tumour burden as defined by the Milan criteria may lead to a more accurate prediction of tumour recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Department of General and Visceral Surgery, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Juliane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liese
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine 1, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peveling-Oberhag
authors.affiliation: Dr Senckenberg Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Doering
authors.affiliation: Department of General and Visceral Surgery, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Schnitzbauer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biostatistics and Mathematical Modelling, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Herrmann
authors.affiliation: Center of Radiology, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zangos
authors.affiliation: Dr Senckenberg Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Hansmann
authors.affiliation: General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, Westpfalz Klinikum, Kaiserslautern, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moench
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine 1, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Welker
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine 1, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zeuzem
authors.affiliation: Department of General and Visceral Surgery, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolf O
authors.initials: WO
authors.lastname: Bechstein
authors.affiliation: Department of General and Visceral Surgery, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.|General and Visceral Surgery, Klinikum Wetzlar, Germany.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ulrich
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000378:metabolism*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000378:metabolism*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: biomarker; hepatocellular carcinoma; liver transplantation; microRNA; tumour recurrence