M. Nishibe et al., HLA CLASS-I ANTIGENS ARE POSSIBLE PROGNOSTIC FACTORS IN HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA, International journal of oncology, 8(6), 1996, pp. 1243-1247
Thirty patients who underwent hepatectomy for the treatment of hepatoc
ellular carcinoma (HCC) were examined for expression of HLA class I an
tigens on HCC cells by flow cytometry. The expression was found signif
icantly lower in cases of stage IV compared with those of stage I or s
tage II (p<0.05), and in cases of intrahepatic metastases compared wit
h those without metastases (p<0.001). In cases of non-curative hepatec
tomy, the expression of HLA class I antigens was lower compared with t
hose treated by curative resection. Postoperative cumulative disease-f
ree survival rates were well correlated with the expression rate of HL
A class I antigens (p<0.05). Expression of HLA class I antigens on HCC
may indicate low malignancy and better prognosis.