Prostate-specific membrane antigen expression in hepatocellular carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, and liver cirrhosis
Primary liver cancer includes three subtypes: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), and combined hepatocellular carcinoma. Patients with primary liver cancer experienced poor prognosis and high mortality, so early detection of liver cancer and improved management of...
Saved in:
Published in | World journal of gastroenterology : WJG Vol. 26; no. 48; pp. 7664 - 7678 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Baishideng Publishing Group Inc
28.12.2020
|
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | Primary liver cancer includes three subtypes: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), and combined hepatocellular carcinoma. Patients with primary liver cancer experienced poor prognosis and high mortality, so early detection of liver cancer and improved management of metastases are both key strategies to reduce the death toll from liver cancer. Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) expression in the tumor-associated neovasculature of nonprostate malignancies including liver cancer has been reported recently, but conclusive evidence of PSMA expression based on the pathological type of liver cancer remains limited.
To study the expression of PSMA in HCC, CCA, and liver cirrhosis.
A total of 446 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) liver tumor and liver cirrhosis tissue samples were obtained retrospectively from the Pathology Department of Tongji Hospital. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect PSMA expression in these 446 FFPE liver biopsy specimens (213 HCC, 203 CCA, and 30 liver cirrhosis). The tumor compartment and the associated neovascular endothelium were separately analyzed. PSMA expression was examined by two certified pathologists, and the final results were presented in a 4-point scoring system (0-3 points). Correlation between PSMA expression and clinicopathological information was also assessed.
PSMA was expressed primarily in the neovascular endothelium associated with tumors. The positive rate of PSMA staining in HCC was significantly higher than that in CCA (86.8%
79.3%;
= 0.001) but was only 6.6% in liver cirrhosis (
= 0.000). HCC cases had more 3-score PSMA staining than CCA had (89/213, 41.8%
35/203, 17.2%;
= 0.001). PSMA expression correlated positively with the stage and grade of HCC and CCA. In both liver cancer subtypes, there were more PSMA
cases in stages III-V diseases than in stages I and II. High staining intensity of PSMA was more frequently observed in liver cancers at high grade and advanced stage. There was no significant association of PSMA expression with sex, age, region, α-fetoprotein, hepatitis B surface antigen, or tumor size in both tumor subtypes.
Neovascular PSMA may be a promising marker to differentiate HCC from liver cirrhosis and a prognostic marker for anti-tumor angiogenesis therapy for HCC. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Corresponding author: Xiao-Hua Zhu, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 1095 Jiefang Ave, Wuhan 430030, Hubei Province, China. evazhu@vip.sina.com Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81873903, No. 81671718, No. 91959119 and No. 81271600; Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province in China, No. 2016CFB687. Author contributions: Chen LX and Zhu XH conceived and designed the study; Zou SJ, Li D, Zhou JY, and Cheng ZT collected the clinical data; Zhu YL and Kuang D contributed to the analysis; Chen LX drafted the manuscript; Zhu XH, Zou SJ, Li D, Kuang D, and Zhu YL made the comments; Zhu XH critically reviewed and revised the manuscript; Zhao J polished the manuscript; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript. |
ISSN: | 1007-9327 2219-2840 |
DOI: | 10.3748/WJG.V26.I48.7664 |