1. Circulating prostaglandin E2: a novel potential prognostic biomarker in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma
- Author
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Giada Munari, Maria Piera Kitenge, Fabio Farinati, Gianluca Businello, Romilda Cardin, Umberto Cillo, Alessandro Vitale, Alberto Ponzoni, Filippo Pelizzaro, and Matteo Fassan
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Survival ,Hepatocellular carcinoma ,medicine.medical_treatment ,Monoacylglycerol lipase ,Cyclooxygenase-2 ,Prostaglandin E ,2 ,Gastroenterology ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Internal medicine ,Medicine ,Prognostic biomarker ,In patient ,Prostaglandin E2 ,Hematology ,business.industry ,General Medicine ,medicine.disease ,digestive system diseases ,030104 developmental biology ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Immunohistochemistry ,lipids (amino acids, peptides, and proteins) ,business ,medicine.drug - Abstract
We aimed to explore the activation of monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL)/cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)/prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) axis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), evaluating circulating PGE2 as prognostic biomarker in HCC patients. PGE2 levels were measured in blood samples from 24 cirrhotics, and 34 HCC patients were consecutively collected between January 2016 and December 2017. In a subgroup of patients, tissue expression of MAGL mRNA and immunohistochemistry for MAGL and COX-2 were obtained. Despite tumor tissues showing overexpression of MAGL mRNA and higher levels of both MAGL and COX-2 at immunohistochemistry, PGE2 levels were not significantly different in HCC and cirrhotics. HCC patients with circulating PGE2 levels > 14 pg/mL had a significantly shorter overall survival (19.4 vs. 49.9 months; p = 0.03), the finding being confirmed by the multivariate analysis (HR 3.37 [95% CI 1.00–11.60]; p = 0.05). The MAGL/COX-2/PGE2 axis is activated in HCC, and circulating PGE2 proved to be a potential prognostic biomarker.
- Published
- 2021