Background: Though the precise criteria for accessing LT are consistently being applied, HCC recurrence (HCC-R_LT) still affects more than 15% of the patients. We analyzed the clinical, histopathological, and biological features of patients with HCC to identify the predictive factors associated with cancer recurrence and survival after LT.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 441 patients with HCC who underwent LT in our center. Overall, 70 (15.8%) of them developed HCC-R_LT. We matched them by age at transplant and etiology with 70 non-recurrent patients. A comparable cohort from the Liver Transplant Centre of Bologna served as validation. The clinical and biochemical characteristics and pre-LT criteria (Milan, Metroticket, Metroticket_AFP, and AFP model) were evaluated. Histological analysis and immunohistochemistry for angiopoietin-2 in the tumor and non-tumor tissue of explanted livers were performed. Patients' follow-up was until death, last clinical evaluation, or 31 December 2021. In patients with HCC-R_LT, the date of diagnosis of recurrence and anatomical site has been reported; if a biopsy of recurrence was available, histologic and immunohistochemical analyses were also performed.
Results: Patients were followed up for a mean period of 62.7 ± 54.7 months (median, 39 months). A higher risk of HCC-R_LT was evident for factors related indirectly (AFP) or directly (endothelial angiopoietin-2, microvascular invasion) to biological HCC aggressiveness. In multivariate analysis, only angiopoietin-2 expression was independently associated with recurrence. Extremely high levels of endothelial angiopoietin-2 expression were also found in hepatic recurrence and all different metastatic locations. In univariate analysis, MELD, Metroticket_AFP Score, Edmondson-Steiner grade, microvascular invasion, and endothelial angiopoietin-2 were significantly related to survival. In multivariate analysis, angiopoietin-2 expression, Metroticket_AFP score, and MELD (in both training and validation cohorts) independently predicted mortality. In time-dependent area under receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the endothelial angiopoietin-2 expression had the highest specificity and sensitivity for recurrence (AUC 0.922, 95% CI 0.876-0.962, < 0.0001).
Conclusions: Endothelial angiopoietin-2 expression is a powerful independent predictor of post-LT tumor recurrence and mortality, highlighting the fundamental role of tumor biology in defining the patients' prognosis after liver transplantation. The great advantage of endothelial angiopoietin-2 is that it is evaluable in HCC biopsy before LT and could drive a patient's priority on the waiting list.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2022.960808 | DOI Listing |
Clin Appl Thromb Hemost
December 2024
Department of Cardiology, Health Sciences Division, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, USA.
Angiopoeitin-2 (Ang2) is a vascular growth factor involved in regulating angiogenesis and endothelial remodeling. Higher Ang2 levels have been associated with mortality in the general population and among male hemodialysis patients, but its effects on concomitant heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are unknown. Plasma samples from 73 ESRD patients and 40 healthy patients were analyzed for Ang2 concentrations using ELISA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Cannabis Res
December 2024
Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, 62529, Saudi Arabia.
Angiogenesis is an intrinsic physiological process involving the formation of new capillaries from existing ones. Synthetic cannabinoids refer to a class of human-made chemicals that are primarily designed to mimic the effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis. Studies investigating the association between synthetic cannabinoids and cellular reactions are limited, and the available scientific evidence is insufficient.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKidney Int Rep
December 2024
Graduate Institute of Physiology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Angiopoietin-2, an important contributor to angiogenesis and vascular remodeling, is increasingly recognized in kidney research. This review explores clinical insights and experimental perspectives on angiopoietin-2 in kidney diseases. Traditionally seen as an antagonist of the Tie-2, which is a receptor tyrosine kinase of endothelial cells and some hematopoietic stem cells, angiopoietin-2 exerts both proangiogenic and antiangiogenic effects, making it a versatile and context-dependent player in kidney pathophysiology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Ophthalmol
December 2024
University of California, Irvine Gavin Herbert Eye Institute; Irvine, CA, USA.
Objective: This review article discusses investigational subretinal gene therapies for retinal vascular diseases, including AVA-101, an adeno-associated viral (AAV) 2 vector expressing soluble vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor 1, ABBV-RGX-314, an AAV8 vector expressing an anti-VEGF-A antibody fragment, and EXG102-031, an AAV8 vector expressing a recombinant protein that blocks VEGF family members and angiopoietin 2.
Design: Review article CONCLUSION: Subretinal injection is a commonly used delivery route for investigational gene therapy agents which is theorized to provide relative immune privilege, thereby reducing the risk of inflammation, while providing high transgene expression in photoreceptors and retinal pigment epithelium. Subretinal injection of AVA-101 demonstrated safety and tolerability in Phase I and IIa trials, but failed to maintain visual acuity and control exudation.
Angiogenesis
December 2024
Department of Neurosurgery, Xuanwu Hospital, International Neuroscience Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, China.
Brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs) are a major cause of hemorrhagic stroke in children and young adults. These lesions are thought to result from somatic KRAS/BRAF mutations in brain endothelial cells (bECs). In this study, we introduce a new bAVM model by inducing a brain endothelial-specific Braf mutation using the Slc1o1c1(BAC)-CreER driver line.
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