Abstract:
Objective To explore the clinical significance of transcription factor Sp1 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and association between Sp1 expression and survival in HCC patients.
Methods With the use of immunoreactivity, Sp1 expression and its correlation with other clinicopathological characteristics were examined in a tissue microarray that contains samples from 98 HCC patients.
Results HCC tissues expressed markedly higher levels of Sp1 than did adjacent normal liver tissues. Sp1 expression was closely associated with microvascular invasion, which suggests that HCC with more microvascular invasion is prone to have increased Sp1 expression. Overexpression of Sp1 correlates with significantly shorter overall survival and higher recurrence rates in HCC patients after curative resection.
Conclusion Transcription factor Sp1 may be an independent prognostic factor for both overall survival and cumulative recurrence rate.