Relationship of the expression levels of XIAP and p53 genes in hepatocellular carcinoma and the prognosis of patients

In this study, we measured mRNA and protein expression levels of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) and p53 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and analyzed their relationships to clinicopathological parameters and the prognosis of the patients. Samples were obtained from tumors and tumor-adjacent normal tissues from 70 patients with HCC who were hospitalized in Weifang People's Hospital from January 2009 to December 2011. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels, respectively. The clinical data of patients who were followed for 5 years from the day of the tumor-resection surgery were collected in detailed clinical histories. Statistical analyses were used to find relationships between the XIAP and p53 levels and the clinical variables and 5-year survival of patients. Our qPCR results showed that the mRNA expression levels of XIAP and p53 in HCC tumors were significantly higher than those in tumor-adjacent normal tissues. At the same time, IHC results showed that the positive expression rates of XIAP and p53 in HCC in tumors were 81.4% (57/70) and 72.9% (51/70), respectively and their high expression was related to invasion, metastasis and tumor staging. The overall 5-year survival rate of the patients was 15.7% (11/70). Single factor survival analysis showed that both XIAP and p53 were influencing factors of the overall survival rate of patients with HCC (P<0.01). In conclusion, high expression levels of XIAP and p53 are closely related to clinicopathological parameters of patients with HCC, especially related to invasion, metastasis and tumor staging. XIAP and p53 levels can be used as reference values to guide the treatment of HCC and estimate the prognosis.