Clinical Importance of Vimentin and MMP 2 Expression in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND / PURPOSE: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common cancer with a poor prognosis. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the genesis of HCC, as well as the progression of HCC, allow for improved prediction of the prognosis of patients with HCC and more effective treatment. In this study, we determined the expression of vimentin and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP 2) and evaluated the clinical significance in (HCC). METHODS: Immunohistochemical staining was performed for vimentin and MMP 2 in 98 surgically resected HCC specimens using the tissue microarray method. The clinicopathologic data and the outcomes were reviewed, and the levels of expression of vimentin and MMP 2 were compared. RESULTS: Positive expression of vimentin and MMP 2 was observed in 7.1% and 41.8% of specimens, respectively. The overexpression of vimentin and MMP 2 had a positive correlation with tumor cell proliferative activity, as measured by the Ki-67 labeling index (p<0.001 and p=0.043, respectively), but was not correlated with the TUNEL labeling index. Other clinicopathological factors, such as platelet count, serosal invasion, Edomondson grade, capsule infiltration, TNM stage(UICC, 6th edition) and extrahepatic metastases in patients with recurrences had a significant correlation with vimentin. The presence of portal vein thrombosis approached statistical significance with MMP 2 expression. In the survival analysis, overexpression of vimentin and MMP 2 was correlated with a poor overall survival rate based on univariate analysis (p=0.002 and, p=0.047, respectively), but not based on multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: In HCC, vimentin and MMP 2 may have a role in cancer progression with more aggressive potential, thus suggesting their use as a prognostic markers in HCC.