High Trophinin-Associated Protein Expression Is an Independent Predictor of Poor Survival in Liver Cancer.

BACKGROUND

Trophinin-associated protein (TROAP) is a cytoplasmic protein that functions as an adhesion molecule in processes such as embryo implantation, spindle formation, and cancer.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the relationship of TROAP expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue with clinicopathologic parameters and survival time in liver cancer patients based on an analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma (TCGA-LIHC) data.

METHODS

RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) expression data and clinical information were downloaded for the TCGA-LIHC cohort. Associations between TROAP expression in HCC tissues and clinical parameters were evaluated by Chi-square tests. Differences in survival between high and low expression groups (median expression cutoff) from Cox regression analysis were compared, and P values were calculated by a log-rank test. Kaplan-Meier curves were compared with the log-rank test.

RESULTS

Analysis of RNA-Seq gene expression data for 373 patients with primary tumors revealed overexpression of TROAP in liver cancer. High TROAP expression was associated with survival status (P = 0.015), T stage (P = 0.049), clinical stage (P = 0.048), and gender (P = 0.033). Patients with high TROAP-expressing liver cancers had a shorter median overall survival of 3.83 years compared with 5.80 years for patients with low TROAP-expressing liver cancers (P = 0.00422). Multivariate analysis identified TROAP expression as an independent prognostic variable for overall survival in liver cancer patients.

CONCLUSION

TROAP expression is an independent predictor of poor survival in liver cancer.