RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Although many studies have shown glycogen synthase kinase-3ß (GSK-3ß) was associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and implicated with a wide range of cancers, the role of GSK-3ß in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) and the correlation among GSK-3ß, T2DM and HCC remains unclear. Our objectives were to identify the effect of p-Ser9-GSK-3ß on the prognosis of patients with HCC and to learn more about the interaction among T2DM, GSK-3ß and the prognosis of HCC. METHODS: Firstly we used reverse transcriptase-PCR(RT-PCR) and western blotting to determine the expression levels of GSK-3ß and p-Ser9-GSK-3ß in human HCC samples. We then used immunohistochemical staining to evaluate the expression pattern of p-Ser9-GSK-3ß in 178 patients with HCC after curative partial hepatectomy. Finally we statistically analyzed the association of p-Ser9-GSK-3ß and T2DM with the prognosis of patients with HCC. RESULTS: P-Ser9-GSK-3ß was over-expressed in tumor tissues compared with their normal counterparts. Correlation and regression analysis indicated that the over-expression of p-Ser9-GSK-3ß was significantly associated with T2DM, and the correlation coefficient was 0.259 (Pâ=â0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that the over-expression of p-Ser9-GSK-3ß(P<0.001) and T2DM(Pâ=â0.008) were independently associated with poor prognosis of HCC, respectively. Further analysis demonstrated that these two variables are closely related with each other. CONCLUSION: The over-expression of p-Ser9-GSK-3ß and T2DM are strongly correlated with worse surgical outcome of HCC. P-Ser9-GSK-3ß may play a significant role in mediating the influence of T2DM on the prognosis of HCC.
