Prognostic Value of Serum Osteoprotegerin Level in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma Following Surgical Resection

Abstract

BackgroundMultiple studies have reported that tissue or serum osteoprotegerin (OPG) level is a prognostic factor for patients with cancer. However, little is known about the role of serum OPG in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we aimed to investigate whether serum OPG concentration has an effect on HCC patients’ prognosis.MethodsA total of 386 eligible HCC patients undergoing radical hepatectomy were enrolled from Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital and Zhongshan Hospital between 2010 and 2018. Kaplan-Meier curves, Cox regression model, and the restricted mean survival time (RMST) were used to estimate the association of OPG and HCC patients’ survival outcome. In addition, sensitivity analyses were carried out including subgroup analysis and propensity score matching (PSM).ResultsPatients were separated into two groups according to the cut-off value of OPG calculated by X-tile. Multivariate Cox analysis showed that patients with high OPG level had worse overall survival (OS) (HR: 1.93; 95% CI: 1.40–2.66, p<0.001) and disease-free survival (DFS) (HR: 1.85; 95% CI: 1.39–2.47, p<0.001) before matching. On average, RMST ratio between high and low OPG turned out to be 0.797 (95% CI: 0.716–0.887, p<0.001). In the matched population, we found that OPG level was negatively associated with OS (HR: 1.85; 95% CI: 1.25–2.74, p=0.002) and DFS (HR: 1.71; 95% CI: 1.20–2.44, p=0.003). In addition, a similar trend was further confirmed by subgroup analyses.ConclusionIn a word, HCC patients with high OPG level had poorer survival rates compared with HCC patients with low OPG level. This factor could act as a potential prognostic predictor for HCC patients who underwent radical resection in the future.

Identification and validation a costimulatory molecule gene signature to predict the prognosis and immunotherapy response for hepatocellular carcinoma

“…Interestingly, genetic deletion of TNFRSF11A in thymic epithelial cells resulted in impaired thymic involution and blunted expansion of natural regulatory T (Treg) cells [ 43 ]. Additionally, study showed that HCC patients with high serum TNFRSF11B, also known as osteoprotegerin (OPG), level had poorer survival rates compared with HCC patients with low OPG level [ 44 ]. CD40 ligand-expressing dendritic cells could induce regression of HCC [ 45 ].…”

EMT-related gene risk model establishment for prognosis and drug treatment efficiency prediction in hepatocellular carcinoma

“…Real-time PCR examination of tumor tissues and paracancerous tissues from 40 patients with liver cancer revealed that TNFRSF11B was highly expressed in liver cancer tissues 49 . A report found that HCC patients with high TNFRSF11B expression had a lower survival rate and that TNFRSF11B was an independent risk factor for HCC 50 . Patients with increased TNFRSF11B expression in malignancies such as oral squamous cell carcinoma and prostate cancer have a worse prognosis 48 .…”

EMT-related gene risk model establishment for prognosis and drug treatment efficiency prediction in hepatocellular carcinoma

“…Real-time PCR examination of tumor tissues and paracancerous tissues from 40 patients with liver cancer revealed that TNFRSF11B was highly expressed in liver cancer tissues 53 . A report found that HCC patients with high TNFRSF11B expression had a lower survival rate and that TNFRSF11B was an independent risk factor for HCC 54 . Patients with increased TNFRSF11B expression in malignancies such as oral squamous cell carcinoma and prostate cancer have a worse prognosis 52 .…”