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Background: Previous studies have suggested Lamin B2 (LMNB2) as an oncogene in lung cancer. However, the role of LMNB2 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear., Method: The expression of LMNB2 was compared between HCC samples and non-tumor samples in multiple datasets. In addition, the prognostic value of LMNB2 in HCC was also investigated. Furthermore, the cBioPortal was utilized to analyze the genomic alternation of LMNB2 in HCC. Besides, co-expression genes and functional enrichment analysis were evaluated using LinkedOmics to determine the function of LMNB2. Finally, the correlation between LMNB2 and immune infiltration was assessed using Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER)., Results: Elevated LMNB2 expression level was identified in HCC patients in multiple datasets. Moreover, increased levels of LMNB2 were associated with poor overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). The functional enrichment analysis revealed that LMNB2 plays an essential role via the cell cycle pathway, spliceosome, hippo-signaling pathway, and metabolic pathways. Besides, copy number variation (CNV) and methylation were significantly associated with LMNB2 expression. Additionally, increased levels of LMNB2 were significantly associated with B cells, CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells., Conclusion: LMNB2 is a potential HCC prognostic and diagnostic biomarker., (© 2020 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.)

Aim: To evaluate the prognostic role of mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after hepatectomy. Patients & methods: A total of 289 HCC patients were classified into two groups based on the cut-off value of MCHC. Significant prognostic factors were screened by univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: Low MCHC value was significantly associated with tumor diameter (p = 0.004) and vascular invasion (p = 0.038). Besides, Cox regression analysis showed that low MCHC was significantly associated with poor prognostic outcomes with HCC after hepatectomy (overall survival: hazard ratio: 0.372; 95% CI: 0.206-0.672; p = 0.001; recurrence-free survival: hazard ratio: 0.450; 95% confidence interval: 0.317-0.638; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Preoperative MCHC can predict prognosis for patients with HCC, and the lower MCHC value was associated with poor prognosis after hepatectomy.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that platelets play an important role in growth, invasion, and angiogenesis of a variety of tumors. Nevertheless, the prognostic role of platelet indices in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been explored. The aim of this study was to explore the association between platelet indices and prognosis in HCC., Method: A total of 260 patients with HCC between January 2009 and December 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. The optimal platelet distribution width (PDW) cutoff value is identified by the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) curve. The relationship between PDW and clinicopathological features was assessed. The prognostic effects of PDW were assessed by using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression model., Result: Elevated PDW level was significantly associated with portal hypertension, vascular invasion, and Child-Pugh grade. In addition, survival curve indicates that patients with high PDW levels have a worse prognosis than patients with low PDW levels (P< 0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified PDW as an independent factor of prognosis in HCC patients (hazard ratio: 4.460, 95% confidence interval: 2.308-8.619, P< 0.001)., Conclusion: Elevated PDW may be a novel marker for predicting the prognosis of HCC, but further research is needed to validate our conclusions.

Background: Previous studies have shown the prognostic value of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the results are not persuasive. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to quantitatively explore the prognostic value of LDH in hepatocellular carcinoma., Methods: We searched the Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library for literature published before October 2018 on the prognostic value of LDH in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The combined hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were utilized to assess the prognostic value of LDH in overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and progression-free survival (PFS) of HCC. Subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis, and metaregression were used to explore the source of heterogeneity. Funnel plots with Begg's test and Egger's test were used to detect potential publication biases. Furthermore, combined odds ratios (ORs) were utilized to assess the correlation between LDH and clinicopathological features., Results: A total of 10 nonrandomized controlled studies were included in this meta-analysis. The combined effects of LDH on HCC patients' OS, RFS/DFS, and PFS were HR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.63-2.62, P < 0.001; HR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.37-1.90, P < 0.001; and HR = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.14-3.36, P = 0.014, respectively. Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis showed that the outcome was stable, and the results of the metaregression also identified statistical models as an important source of heterogeneity. Potential publication bias was detected in the OS studies, so the trim-and-fill method was used to explore publication bias, and the results showed stability. Furthermore, the combined OR suggests that LDH was significantly correlated with gender, Child-Pugh grade, alpha-fetoprotein, vascular invasion, and tumor size., Conclusions: Preoperative LDH elevation is significantly associated with poor prognosis in patients with HCC, which may be a promising factor in assessing the prognosis of patients with HCC.