KIAA0101 mRNA expression in the peripheral blood of hepatocellular carcinoma patients: Association with some clinicopathological features

• KIAA0101 mRNA is overexpressed compared to cirrhosis and normal controls.
• KIAA0101 overexpression is associated with factors of HCC which reflect tumor progression.
• KIAA0101 mRNA shows higher diagnostic performance than AFP and CEA.

ObjectivesThe development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is multi-factorial, multi-step and involving many genes. Recent studies have revealed the involvement of KIAA0101 in HCC development and progression. KIAA0101 is involved in the regulation of DNA repair, cell cycle progression, and cell proliferation.This study aims to elucidate the clinicopathological significance of KIAA0101 mRNA expression in the whole blood of HCC patients.Design and methodsThis study was conducted on 77 patients with proven HCC who presented to the outpatient clinic at the National Cancer Institute — Cairo University over a period of 8 consecutive months. Thirty patients with cirrhosis and forty apparently healthy volunteers were included as control groups.Detection of KIAA0101 mRNA was done on whole blood collected on EDTA for all patients and control subjects using real-time PCR.ResultsKIAA0101 mRNA was over-expressed in the HCC group compared to the control groups. Overexpression of KIAA0101 mRNA was significantly associated with distant metastasis, advanced stage, high serum alkaline phosphatase and low serum albumin levels. Both sensitivity and specificity of KIAA0101 mRNA were higher than those of AFP and CEA.ConclusionBeing associated with some of the prognostic factors of HCC which reflect tumor progression; as advanced stage, distant metastasis, hypoalbuminemia and elevated serum alkaline phosphatase, together with its relatively high diagnostic performance; KIAA0101 mRNA might be nominated to play a probable role in the diagnosis and prognosis prediction of HCC. Further studies on a wider scale are recommended to confirm these results.