Higher expression of A-kinase anchoring-protein 1 predicts poor prognosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma

A-kinase anchoring protein 1 (AKAP1) plays important regulatory roles in the regulation of mitochondrial function, oxidative metabolism, and cell survival. However, the expression pattern and prognostic value of AKAP1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. AKAP1 expression levels in tumor and matched non-tumor tissues were evaluated using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical staining. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were used to analyze the survival rates. We found that AKAP1 protein expression was increased in HCC tissues, and high AKAP1 expression was associated with tumor size (P=0.024), Tumor-Node-Metastasis stage (P=0.0296) and portal vein thrombosis (P=0.00498). Kaplan-Meier survival analyses further revealed that high AKAP1 expression was associated with poor overall (P=0.004) and disease-free survival (DFS) (P=0.002) rates in patients with HCC. Multivariate survival analysis revealed that AKAP1 served as an independent poor prognostic factor for DFS rates. The findings of the present study indicated that AKAP1 expression may contribute to HCC progression. High AKAP1 expression could serve as a valuable prognostic biomarker in predicting the survival of patients with HCC following radical resection.