Significance of decoy receptor 3 in sera of hepatocellular carcinoma patients

MEISONGZHU  YANG; GANG  CHEN; YIWU  DANG; DIANZHONG  LUO

doi:10.3109/03009734.2010.516410

MEISONGZHU YANG Department of Pathology and Pathophysiology, Medical College of Jishou University, Jishou 416000, People’s Republic of China; and Department of Pathology, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, People’s Republic of China
GANG CHEN Department of Pathology, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, People’s Republic of China
YIWU DANG Department of Pathology, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, People’s Republic of China
DIANZHONG LUO Department of Pathology, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, People’s Republic of China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/03009734.2010.516410

Keywords: Decoy receptor 3 (DcR3), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), immunohistochemistry (IHC)

Abstract

Objective. Decoy receptor 3 (DcR3), a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, is amplified and over-expressed in various cancers. The objective of the present study was to investigate the concentration of DcR3 in sera of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and its clinical significance.

Methods. Serum concentrations of DcR3 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 67 patients with HCC, 8 with liver cirrhosis, 17 with cholecystitis, and in 28 healthy individuals. Immunohistochemistry was employed to access protein expression of DcR3 in the corresponding HCC tissues.

Results. Serum concentrations of DcR3 in patients with HCC or cirrhosis were significantly higher than in healthy individuals (P < 0.01). Moreover, serum concentrations of DcR3 in HCC patients were associated with TNM stage, para-cirrhosis, capsular infiltration, and metastasis or recurrence of disease (P < 0.05). There was a positive correlation between the serum concentration of DcR3 and protein expression in HCC tissues (r = 0.472, P < 0.01).

Conclusions. The high serum concentration of DcR3 might play a certain role in pathogenesis, progress, and metastasis of HCC. Moreover, DcR3 might serve as a valuable molecular indicator in early diagnosis and contribute to predicting the clinical outcome in HCC patients.

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