Upregulation of caprin1 expression is associated with poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract Caprin-1 has been found to promotes osteosarcoma tumor growth, lung metastasis in mice, regulating the proliferation and invasion of human breast cancer cells and up-regulated in proton beam irradiated human melanoma cells. However, its clinical role, biological function in the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown. In the present study, we investigated the clinical significance of Caprin1 in the HCC. Caprin1 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry, and the expression level was analyzed in 65 HCC tissues and paired peritumoral tissue. Prognostic value of Caprin1 in HCC was evaluated in 174 cases using Kaplan-Meier analysis. Univariate survival analysis and multiple Cox proportional hazards regression were performed using the Cox regression analysis. Immunohistochemistry revealed that Caprin1 expression in 65 HCC tissues was upregulated compared to paired peritumoral tissue (p = 0.0064). Survival analysis in 174 HCC patient tissues was showed that high Caprin1 expression was significantly associated with worse overall survival (HR = 1.513, p = 0.042). In conclusion, high Caprin1 expression independently predicts a poor outcome for patients with HCC, supporting that Caprin1 may be a promising novel HCC prognostic factor.