Decrease of RBM4 indicates poor prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy

RNA-binding motif 4 (RBM4) has been reported to play an important role in many human tumors such as lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer and gastric cancer by regulating alternative splicing and messenger RNA (mRNA) translation. However, little is known about the role of RBM4 in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to investigate the expression of RBM4 in HCC tissues. Expression of RBM4 was detected by immunohistochemistry in 95 cases of HCC. Correlations of RBM4 expression with the overall survival and disease-free survival of HCC were also studied. Patients with high RBM4 expression had better overall survival rate and disease-free survival rate than those with low RBM4 expression (P<0.001, P=0.007, respectively). RBM4 expression, together with tumor numbers, capsular formation, vascular invasion and Barcelona clinic liver cancer (BCLC) stage, was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival rate and disease-free survival rate of HCC. Our data implicate RBM4 as a novel prognostic marker and a potential therapeutic target for HCC.