Clusterin role in hepatocellular carcinoma patients treated with oxaliplatin

Aim: To explore the prognostic value of clusterin (CLU) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients treated with oxaliplatin (OXA). Methods: Relative expression of plasma CLU mRNA was examined via fluorescence quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), and CLU protein level in tissue samples was detected through immunohistochemistry. Chi-square test was used to analyze the relationship between CLU mRNA expression and clinical features of HCC patients treated with OXA. Kaplan–Meier method was performed to assess overall survival for the patients, and prognostic value of CLU in HCC patients was estimated via Cox regression analysis. Results: CLU expression in plasma and tissue specimens was significantly higher among HCC patients than in non-malignant controls (P < 0.001 for both). Moreover, elevated CLU mRNA was closely related to tumor stage, lymph node metastasis and response to OXA (P < 0.05). HCC patients with high CLU expression showed poor response to OXA. In addition, low CLU levels predicted long overall survival time among the study subjects (20.8 vs. 36.6 months, P < 0.001). CLU was an independent prognostic indicator for HCC patients treated with OXA (HR = 2.587, 95%CI = 1.749–3.828, P < 0.001). Conclusion: CLU may be a novel prognostic marker for HCC patients treated with OXA.