The expression of apolipoprotein D in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: Apolipoprotein D (Apo D) has recently been identified as a novel tumor suppressor gene. Apo D may have a profound effect on the carcinogenesis and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma. This study was designed to evaluate the expression of Apo D in hepatocellular carcinoma and to investigate the relationship between the expression of Apo D and the clinicopathological characteristics and the patients' survival. Methods: An immunohistochemical study was performed on the tumors and tissues from 43 hepatocellular carci-noma (HCC) patients with controls to determine the expression of Apo D protein. Results: Our data showed that a higher expression of Apo D was seen in 10 of 43 cases (23.3%), while a lower and no expression of Apo D was observed in 28 of 43 cases (65.1%) and 5 of 43 cases (11.6%), respectively. A reduced expression of Apo D was correlated with the tumor stage (p = 0.037) and tumor size (p = 0.017). However, the patients' 5-year survival was not associated with the expression of Apo D (p = 0.903). Conclusions: The results suggest that a reduced Apo D protein expression may play an important role in HCC progression as associated with the tumor stage and size, but it does not affect the survival of HCC patients.