Co-expression of KIAA1199 and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α is a biomarker for an unfavorable prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

Advanced studies demonstrated that hypoxic stress induced KIAA1199 expression leading to enhanced cell migration. KIAA1199 is a protein related with cancer metastasis. Hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) is a transcriptional factor that maintains oxygen homeostasis. Both KIAA1199 and HIF-1α were upregulated in many human cancers. In the present study, co-expression of KIAA1199 and HIF-1α was evaluated for the clinicopathological characteristics and survival in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Clinical-pathological information and follow-up data were collected from 152 HCC patients. KIAA1199 and HIF-1α expression were scored based on the percentage and intensity of immunohistochemical staining in pathological slide. Correlations between clinical features and the expression of KIAA1199 and HIF-1α were evaluated by Chi-square test, Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariate Cox regression analysis. The frequency of KIAA1199 high expression was higher in HCC than adjacent tissue. KIAA1199(H)/HIF-1α(H) tumors were more frequently of TNM (P = .011), tumor size (P = .021), vascular invasion (P = .002) and HBV (P = .001). In survival analysis, KIAA1199(H)/HIF-1α(H) patients had the worst prognosis. Using the combination of the two parameters increased the prognostic value (P < .01 vs P = .03). KIAA1199 in combination with HIF-1α expression tends to indicate a more accurate prognosis.