Decreased expression of LKB1 correlates with poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma patients undergoing hepatectomy.

Aim: To study any correlation of LKB1 expression with prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases.

Methods: A total of 70 HCC patients and 20 primary intrahepatic stone patients in the first affiliated hospital of Wenzhou Medical College were enrolled in this study. LKB1 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry. Patients were followed-up and prognostic factors were evaluated.

Result: LKB1 expression was decreased in the HCC samples. Loss of LKB1 expression in HCC was significantly related to histologic grade (P=0.010), vascular invasion (P=0.025) and TMN stage (P=0.011). Patients showing negative LKB1 expression had a significantly shorter disease-free and overall survival than those with positive expression (P = 0.001, P=0.000, respectively). Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that LKB1 expression level was an independent factor of survival (P = 0.033).

Conclusion: HCC patients with decreased expression LKB1 have a poor prognosis. The loss of LKB1 expression is correlated with a lower survival rate.