Published online Aug 27, 2024. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v16.i8.1131
Revised: June 27, 2024
Accepted: July 10, 2024
Published online: August 27, 2024
Processing time: 168 Days and 21.4 Hours
The dysregulation of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP3) was positively correlated with the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, it is not clear whether TIMP3 expression is associated with the clinico
To assess the effects of TIMP3 expression on the clinicopathological features and prognosis of AHCC.
A retrospective study, including 182 patients with AHCC, was conducted to explore the link between TIMP3 expression in cancerous tissues and the clinico
Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that compared with high TIMP3 expression, low TIMP3 expression in tumor tissues significantly decreased the MST (36.00 mo vs 18.00 mo) and MRT (32.00 mo vs 16 mo) of patients with AHCC. Multivariate Cox regression survival analysis further proved that decreased expression of TIMP3 increased the risk of death (HR = 2.85, 95%CI: 2.04-4.00) and tumor recurrence (HR = 2.26, 95%CI: 1.57-3.26). Furthermore, decreased expression of TIMP3 protein in tissues with AHCC was significantly correlated with tumor clinicopathological features, such as tumor size, tumor grade and stage, tumor microvessel density, and tumor blood invasion. Additionally, TIMP3 protein expression was also negatively associated with amount of AFB1-DNA adducts in tumor tissues.
These findings indicate that the dysregulation of TIMP3 expression is related to AHCC biological behaviors and affects tumor outcome, suggesting that TIMP3 may act as a prognostic biomarker for AHCC.
Core Tip: This study retrospectively analyzed tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP3) expression and the clini