Noh Choong-Kyun, Wang Hee Jeong, Kim Chang Min, Kim Jinpyo, Yoon So Young, Lee Gil Ho, Cho Hyo Jung, Yang Min Jae, Kim Soon Sun, Hwang Jae Chul, Cho Sung Won, Roh Jin, Kim Young Bae, Kim Soo Jin, Kim Bong Wan, Cheong Jae Youn
Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
Department of Surgery, Institute of Medical Sciences, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
Anticancer Res. 2018 Jul;38(7):4101-4109. doi: 10.21873/anticanres.12700.
BACKGROUND/AIM: Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is expressed in hepatic progenitor cells and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and is considered a marker of liver cancer stem cells.
A total of 262 patients were enrolled who had undergone surgical resection for HCC, with immunohistochemical staining results for EpCAM. The immunohistochemical expression of EpCAM and other stemness-related markers was evaluated as prognosticators of tumor recurrence and survival in patients who underwent surgical resection for HCC.
A multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that tumor size [hazard ratio (HR)=2.26, p=0.005], intrahepatic metastasis (HR=2.31, p=0.011), and EpCAM positivity (HR=1.74, p=0.038) were associated with tumor recurrence. In a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, patients with EpCAM-positive tumors had a significantly higher tumor recurrence rate and a reduced overall survival compared to those with EpCAM-negative tumors.
Immunohistochemical expression of EpCAM was identified as a poor prognosticator of recurrence and survival after surgical resection in patients with HCC.
背景/目的：上皮细胞粘附分子（EpCAM）在肝祖细胞和肝细胞癌（HCC）中表达，被认为是肝癌干细胞的标志物。
共纳入262例接受HCC手术切除的患者，并获取其EpCAM免疫组化染色结果。评估EpCAM及其他干性相关标志物的免疫组化表达，作为接受HCC手术切除患者肿瘤复发和生存的预后指标。
多因素Cox回归分析显示，肿瘤大小[风险比（HR）=2.26，p=0.005]、肝内转移（HR=2.31，p=0.011）和EpCAM阳性（HR=1.74，p=0.038）与肿瘤复发相关。在Kaplan-Meier生存分析中，与EpCAM阴性肿瘤患者相比，EpCAM阳性肿瘤患者的肿瘤复发率显著更高，总生存期缩短。
EpCAM的免疫组化表达被确定为HCC患者手术切除后复发和生存的不良预后指标。
