Background C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase reactant synthesized in the liver. CRP immunoreactivity is a feature of inflammatory hepatocellular adenomas with a higher risk of malignant transformation. A high serum CRP level denotes poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. This study was conducted to determine whether CRP is produced in HCC and to assess the clinicopathologic significance of CRP expression in cancer cells. Methods: CRP immunoreactivity was examined in treatment-naïve HCCs (n=224) using tissue microarrays and was correlated with clinicopathologic parameters. The expression of CRP mRNA and protein was also assessed in 12 HCC cases by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting. Hep3B and SNU-449 HCC cell lines were used for the analysis of CRP mRNA regulation by interleukin 6 (IL-6). Results: CRP was expressed in 133 of 224 HCCs (59.4%) with a variable degree of immunoreactivity (grade 1 in 25.9%; grade 2 in 20.1%; grade 3 in 13.4%). There was an inverse relationship between grade 3 CRP immunoreactivity and cancer-specific survival (p=.0047), while no associations were found with other parameters, including recurrence-free survival. The CRP mRNA expression level was significantly higher in CRP immunopositive cases than in immunonegative cases (p<.05). CRP mRNA expression was increased in Hep3B cells, but was not detected in SNU-449 cells even after IL-6 treatment. Conclusions: We report the expression of CRP in HCC for the first time. CRP expression was associated with poor cancer-specific survival in patients with resectable HCC.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Peritumoral portal enhancement during transarterial chemoembolization: a potential prognostic factor for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma Sofi Sennefelt Nyman, Angeliki Dimopoulou Creusen, Ulf Johnsson, Fredrik Rorsman, Johan Vessby, Charlotte Ebeling Barbier Acta Radiologica.2022; 63(10): 1323. CrossRef
The quest for precision oncology with immune checkpoint inhibitors for hepatocellular carcinoma Giuseppe Cabibbo, Amit G. Singal Journal of Hepatology.2022; 76(2): 262. CrossRef
HNF-1β is a More Sensitive and Specific Marker Than C-Reactive Protein for Identifying Biliary Differentiation in Primary Hepatic Carcinomas Pallavi A. Patil, Tamar Taddei, Dhanpat Jain, Xuchen Zhang Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine.2022; 146(2): 220. CrossRef
Malignant transformation of hepatocellular adenoma Céline Julien, Brigitte Le Bail, Laurence Chiche, Charles Balabaud, Paulette Bioulac-Sage JHEP Reports.2022; 4(3): 100430. CrossRef
Effect of Treatment with Colchicine after Acute Coronary Syndrome on Major Cardiovascular Events: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials Erfan Razavi, Akam Ramezani, Asma Kazemi, Armin Attar, Baohui Xu Cardiovascular Therapeutics.2022; 2022: 1. CrossRef
Steatotic and Steatohepatitic Hepatocellular Carcinomas Umut Aykutlu, Asuman Argon, Mehmet Orman, Sezgin Ulukaya, Murat Zeytunlu, Zeki Karasu, Fulya Günşar, Deniz Nart, Ulus Akarca, Funda Yilmaz American Journal of Surgical Pathology.2021; 45(9): 1252. CrossRef
Cytochrome P450 4A11 expression in tumor cells: A favorable prognostic factor for hepatocellular carcinoma patients Hyuk Soo Eun, Sang Yeon Cho, Byung Seok Lee, Sup Kim, In‐Sang Song, Kwangsik Chun, Cheong‐Hae Oh, Min‐Kyung Yeo, Seok Hyun Kim, Kyung‐Hee Kim Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.2019; 34(1): 224. CrossRef
Investigating Trk Protein Expression between Oropharyngeal and Non-oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Clinical Implications and Possible Roles of Human Papillomavirus Infection Yoon Ah Cho, Ji Myung Chung, Hyunmi Ryu, Eun Kyung Kim, Byoung Chul Cho, Sun Och Yoon Cancer Research and Treatment.2019; 51(3): 1052. CrossRef
Increased systemic zonula occludens 1 associated with inflammation and independent biomarker in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma Amit Kumar Ram, Biju Pottakat, Balasubramaniyan Vairappan BMC Cancer.2018;[Epub] CrossRef
C-reactive Protein Overexpression in the Background Liver of Hepatitis B Virus–Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma Is a Prognostic Biomarker Jin Ho Shin, Eunsil Yu, Eun Na Kim, Chong Jai Kim Journal of Pathology and Translational Medicine.2018; 52(5): 267. CrossRef
Elevated CRP levels predict poor outcome and tumor recurrence in patients with thymic epithelial tumors: A pro- and retrospective analysis Stefan Janik, Christine Bekos, Philipp Hacker, Thomas Raunegger, Bahil Ghanim, Elisa Einwallner, Lucian Beer, Walter Klepetko, Leonhard Müllauer, Hendrik J. Ankersmit, Bernhard Moser Oncotarget.2017; 8(29): 47090. CrossRef
Pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio predicts prognosis in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma receiving targeted therapy Gui-Ming Zhang, Yao Zhu, Wei-Jie Gu, Hai-Liang Zhang, Guo-Hai Shi, Ding-Wei Ye International Journal of Clinical Oncology.2016; 21(2): 373. CrossRef
Current Proceedings in the Molecular Dissection of Hepatocellular Adenomas: Review and Hands-on Guide for Diagnosis Diane Goltz, Hans-Peter Fischer International Journal of Molecular Sciences.2015; 16(9): 20994. CrossRef