Brief Reports
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Nov 14, 2005; 11(42): 6701-6706
Published online Nov 14, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i42.6701
Correlation and prognostic significance of beta-galactoside alpha-2,6-sialyltransferase and serum monosialylated alpha-fetoprotein in hepatocellular carcinoma
Terence CW Poon, Clarissa HS Chiu, Paul BS Lai, Tony SK Mok, Benny Zee, Anthony TC Chan, Joseph JY Sung, Philip J Johnson
Terence CW Poon, Joseph JY Sung, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Sir YK Pao Cancer Centre, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, NT, Hong Kong, China
Clarissa HS Chiu, Tony SK Mok, Benny Zee, Anthony TC Chan, Department of Clinical Oncology, Sir YK Pao Cancer Centre, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, NT, Hong Kong, China
Paul BS Lai, Department of Surgery, Sir YK Pao Cancer Centre, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, NT, Hong Kong, China
Philip J Johnson, Cancer Research UK Institute for Cancer Studies, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Supported by Central Allocation Grant CUHK 2/02C from the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong, and the Direct Grant for Research (2040750) from the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Correspondence to: Terence CW Poon, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong, China. tcwpoon@cuhk.edu.hk
Telephone: +852-2632-1205 Fax: +852-2648-8842
Received: February 26, 2005
Revised: June 1, 2005
Accepted: June 2, 2005
Published online: November 14, 2005
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the correlation between tissue ST6Gal I and serum msAFP in HCC patients, and to investigate their prognostic significance.

METHODS: Preoperative sera, paired tumorous and non-tumorous tissues were collected from 19 consecutive patients who had undergone surgical resection of HCC. ST6Gal I activities in the tissues were measured by an in vitro microsomal enzyme activity assay. The percentages of tumor-specific msAFP in the sera were also estimated by an isoelectric focusing-immunoblotting assay.

RESULTS: The tumor ST6Gal I activity was negatively correlated with serum msAFP percentage (r = -0.53, P = 0.019). Both decreased tumor ST6Gal I activity and increased serum msAFP percentage were associated with poor tumor cell differentiation. Univariate analyses showed that both decreased tumor ST6Gal I activity (P = 0.028), increased serum msAFP percentage (P = 0.034) and poor tumor cell differentiation (P = 0.031) were associated with shorter overall survival. Multivariate analysis using the Cox regression model showed that the preoperative serum msAFP percentage (P = 0.022) and tumor cell differentiation status (P = 0.048) were independent prognostic indicators for patient overall survival.

CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the presence of msAFP in blood circulation is associated with a decreased activity of ST6Gal I activity in HCC. Both tissue ST6Gal I and serum msAFP are potential prognostic markers for patients with operable HCC.

Keywords: Alpha-fetoprotein, Beta-galactoside alpha-2,6-sialyltransferase, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Patient survival, Cell differentiation