ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate expression of the cysteinyl leukotriene receptor (CysLT1R) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and determine its clinical significance.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Cancerous and paraneoplastic liver tissues were collected from 30 patients with HCC and from 12 patients with liver hemangioma patients (controls). Real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to evaluate the expression of CysLT1R in these tissues and assess the relationship with clinical pathological features. T-test,?Fisher's exact test and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were used for statistical analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The expression of CysLT1R in adjacent liver tissues (100%) was higher than that in the HCC (43.33%, P = 0.000) and normal liver tissues (41.67%, P = 0.000). The level of CysLT1R mRNA was also higher in paraneoplastic liver tissues (0.0339+/-0.0221) than in the paired HCC tissues (0.0127+/-0.0116, t = 2.911, P = 0.008) and normal liver tissues (0.0154+/-0.0123, t = -2.310, P = 0.033). There was no difference between the levels in HCC and normal liver tissues (P more than 0.05). Higher level of CysLT1R mRNA, higher level of serum alpha-fetoprotein, and higher tumor stage (III-IV) were associated with poor prognosis (respectively 4.372, P = 0.037; 24.187, P = 0.000; 8.75, P = 0.003). However, no evident relationship between the expression of CysLT1R and other clinical features was observed. Conclusions Overexpression of CysLT1R may contribute to the occurrence and progression of HCC.</p>