ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the expression of RNA methyltransferase METTL14 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its clinical significance.@*METHODS@#Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expression of METTL14 in 147 pairs of HCC and adjacent hepatic tissues. According to the scores rated by pathologists, the 147 cases of HCC were divided into high and low METTL14 expression groups. The correlation between the expression of METTL14 and clinicopathological parameters was analyzed, and Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the relationship between the expression of METTL14 and the prognosis and survival (including the overall survival and disease-free survival) of the patients with HCC after operation. Univariate analysis and multivariate analysis were carried out to assess the impact of METTL14 expression level on the overall survival and tumor-free survival of the patients after operation using a COX regression model and explore whether METTL14 expression level is an independent prognostic risk factor of the postoperative patients.@*RESULTS@#The expression of METTL14 was significantly lower in HCC tissues than in the adjacent tissues ( < 0.001). METTL14 expression in HCC tissues was significantly correlated with the tumor size (=0.044) and TNM stage (=0.046). A low expression of METTL14 in HCC tissues was significantly correlated with a poor prognosis and a significantly shortened overall survival time and disease-free survival time of the patients ( < 0.05), and was an independent risk factor affecting the overall survival and disease-free survival of HCC patients.@*CONCLUSIONS@#METTL14 may be a new prognostic marker for patients with HCC after hepatectomy.