Connection Between CDC20 Expression and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Prognosis.

BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurs frequently in China, with high morbidity and mortality. Cell division cycle 20 homolog (CDC20) is reportedly related to many cancers. In this study, we discuss a potential link of CDC20 expression to HCC patients' prognoses. MATERIAL AND METHODS Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to assess CDC20 expression in HCC and the paired noncancerous tissues. Chi-square analysis was used to assess potential association of CDC20 expression with clinicopathologic profiles among HCC patients. The overall survival for HCC patients with different CDC20 expressions was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method. To evaluate the prognostic value for HCC patients, Cox regression analyses were performed. RESULTS The expression of CDC20 was elevated among HCC specimens compared with adjacent noncancerous ones (P<0.05). The expression of CDC20 was significantly related to differentiation (P<0.001), tumor node metastasis stage (P<0.001), and lymphatic metastasis (P<0.001). Moreover, HCC patients with high CDC20 expression had dismal overall survival rates compared with low CDC20 expression (P<0.05). CDC20 alone could forecast HCC prognoses according to multivariable Cox regression analysis (hazard ratio=2.354, 95% confidence interval=1.177-4.709, P=0.016). CONCLUSIONS Overexpressed CDC20 may act as a reliable biomarker for dismal prognoses among HCC patients.

NUCKS1 Acts as a Promising Novel Biomarker for the Prognosis of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Objective: Nuclear casein kinase and cyclin-dependent kinase substrate 1 (NUCKS1) is highly expressed in some tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its clinical significance in HCC prognosis is still unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the expression and prognostic value of NUCKS1 in HCC. Materials and Methods: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to detect relative expression of NUCKS1 mRNA in HCC tissues and corresponding adjacent normal tissues. The relationship between NUCKS1 expression and clinical characteristics of patients was analyzed by χ2 test. Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analysis were applied to estimate prognostic value of NUCKS1 in HCC. Results: Compared with normal ones, the expression of NUCKS1 mRNA was significantly upregulated in HCC tissues (p < 0.001). Besides, NUCKS1 expression was closely associated with tumor differentiation, tumor node metastasis stage, vascular invasion, and metastasis (p < 0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that overall survival was obviously longer in HCC patients with low expression of NUCKS1 than those with high NUCKS1 expression (log rank test, p = 0.001). NUCKS1 might be an independent prognostic factor for HCC patients (HR = 1.905, 95% CI = 1.106-3.283, p = 0.020). Conclusions: NUCKS1 may be correlated with the progression of HCC and serve as a potential predictive factor for the prognosis of this disease.