Cellular Prion Protein Is Closely Associated with Early Recurrence and Poor Survival in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) is known to play a role in cancer proliferation and metastasis. However, the role of PrP(C) expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unknown. This study investigated whether overexpression of PrP(C) affects recurrence after surgical resection and survival in HCC. A total of 110 HCC patients who underwent hepatic resection were included. They were followed up for a median of 42 months (range 1–213 months) after hepatectomy. The relationships between PrP(C) expression and the HCC histologic features, recurrence of HCC following surgical resection, and survival of the patients were examined. Seventy-one cases (64.5%) of HCC demonstrated higher expression of PrP(C). The expression of PrP(C) was only correlated with diabetes mellitus. There was no association between PrP(C) expression and age, sex, hypertension, hepatitis B virus positivity, alcohol consumption, Child–Pugh class, major portal vein invasion, serum alpha-fetoprotein, and HCC size or number. The 1-year recurrence rates in patients with higher PrP(C) expression were higher than those with lower PrP(C) expression. The cumulative survival rates of patients with higher PrP(C) expression were significantly shorter than those of patients with lower PrP(C) expression. In conclusion, PrP(C) expression is closely associated with early recurrence and poor survival of HCC patients following surgical resection.