ABSTRACT
Objective To determine the expression of G-protein coupled receptor 34 (GPR34) in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues.Methods Immunohistochemistry and tissue-array were used to determine GPR34 expression in human hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and matched adjacent tissues.A statistical analysis was performed to establish the potential correlation between GPR34 expression and the patients'clinicopathological characteristics,tumor progression,and prognosis.Results GPR34 is up-regulated in primary hepatocellular carcinoma tissues compared with matched adjacent tissues (P =0.003),and it was shown that GPR34 expression is significantly correlated with tumor size (P =0.024),small hepatocellular carcinoma(0.030) and infiltration(P =0.012),but not with sex,age,grade,chnical stage (all P ＞0.05) ; it was also shown that GPR34 expression had a significant influence on prognosis (X2 =5.617,P=0.018).Multivariate analyses showed that high GPR34 expression is an independent poor prognostic factor for overall survival (P =0.037).Conclusions The up-regulation of GPR34 acts as an potential prooncogene in the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma.GPR34 may be a useful diagnostic or prognostic molecular biomarker,and a potential target for therapeutic intervention.