Expression of Livin and Smac in hepatocellular carcinoma and their clinical significance

Objective:To investigate the expression of Livin and Smac in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and their correlation with metastasis and recurrence.Methods:Immunohistochemisty was employed to determine the expression of Livin and Smac in 80 HCC tissues and 80 normal tissues adjacent to cancer.Results:The positive rate of Smac in tumor tissues was significantly lower that compared with that in normal tissues adjacent to cancer.The protein expression of Livin was significantly correlated with the clinical stage,portal vein tumor thrombus,recurrence of tumor,presence of extrahepatic metastasis and the diameter of tumor;The protein expression of Smac was significantly correlated with the clinical stage,portal vein tumor thrombus,recurrence of tumor,presence of extrahepatic metastasis and differentiation of tumor.There was a significantly negative relationship of Livin with Smac.Conclusion:The inactivation of Smac and overexpression of Livin protein might enhance the hepatocytes proliferation and malignance and play an important role in progress of HCC.