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Aberrant expression of nuclear KPNA2 is correlated with early recurrence and poor prognosis in patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy

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Abstract

Karyopherin α2 (KPNA2) functions as an adaptor that transports several proteins to the nucleus. Emerging evidence suggests that KPNA2 plays a crucial role in oncogenesis and early recurrence. In the present study, we evaluated the expression pattern of KPNA2 in 221 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) specimens and matching adjacent, non-tumorous tissues (NT) by immunohistochemical assays. We found that nuclear KPNA2 expression was significantly upregulated (30.3 %, 67/221) in HCC tissues; however, no nuclear expression of KPNA2 in NT tissues was observed. A correlation analysis demonstrated that nuclear KPNA2 expression was positively associated with serum AFP level, tumor differentiation, vascular invasion, BCLC stage and early recurrence (all p < 0.05). Nuclear KPNA2 expression was associated with a poor prognosis in HCC patients. Univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that KPNA2 was an independent prognostic factor for both overall survival (p < 0.001) and time to recurrence (p < 0.001) in HCC patients. Furthermore, in a validation cohort, nuclear expression of KPNA2 was observed in 16 of 47 (34.0 %) small hepatocellular carcinoma patients. Importantly, the risk of recurrence associated with nuclear KPNA2 expression (9/16, 56.2 %) was significantly higher than the risk associated with an absence of nuclear KPNA2 expression (6/31, 19.3 %; p = 0.01). Our results demonstrate that nuclear KPNA2 expression is a poor prognostic biomarker for HCC, especially for early-stage HCC.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge National Natural Science Foundation of China (81201634); Basilic Special Financial of Affiliated Tumor Hospital Guangzhou Medical University (2011-yz-03); Ph.D. Startup Foundation of Guangzhou Medical University (2012C65).

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We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Affiliated Tumor Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510095, Guangdong, China

    Peng Jiang, Yunqiang Tang, Lu He, Hui Tang, Min Liang, Cong Mai & Jian Hong

  2. Department of Medical Oncology, Affiliated Tumor Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510095, Guangdong, China

    Lijuan Hu

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  1. Peng Jiang
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  2. Yunqiang Tang
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  3. Lu He
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  4. Hui Tang
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  5. Min Liang
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  6. Cong Mai
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  7. Lijuan Hu
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  8. Jian Hong
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Correspondence to Yunqiang Tang.

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Jiang, P., Tang, Y., He, L. et al. Aberrant expression of nuclear KPNA2 is correlated with early recurrence and poor prognosis in patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy. Med Oncol 31, 131 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-014-0131-4

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