Overexpression of LGR-5 as a Predictor of Poor Outcome in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Chih-Jan Ko, Chia-Jung Li, Meng-Yu Wu and Pei-Yi Chu
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Chih-Jan Ko: Department of General Surgery, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua 500, Taiwan
Chia-Jung Li: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung 813, Taiwan
Meng-Yu Wu: Department of Emergency Medicine, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, New Taipei 231, Taiwan
Pei-Yi Chu: School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei 242, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 10, 1-9

Abstract: Hepatocarcinogenesis and distant metastasis pose major challenges for physicians. They are regulated by several genes, such as AKT , JUK , Wnt , and P53 , and their expression activates several important processes such as cell proliferation, migration, motility, and interaction in the microenvironment. The leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor 5 (LGR-5) is a novel biomarker, particularly in stem cells, and is involved in embryogenesis, tumor development, and tumor cell signal transduction. Here, we investigated LGR-5 expression using immunohistochemistry and analyzed the correlation between clinical features and prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We found that LGR-5 expression was higher in tumor tissues than in normal liver tissues, and that high LGR-5 expression possibly favored poor outcomes in HCC, especially in well/moderate differentiation grade, hepatitis C virus (HCV)-negative, and hepatitis B virus (HBV)-positive groups. Thus, the LGR-5 marker is suggested to be a routine biomarker for poor prognosis, thereby providing a platform for anti-LGR-5-targeted therapy in the future.

Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma; LGR-5; immunohistochemical markers; outcome (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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