Genetic Variants in ASCT2 Gene are Associated with the Prognosis of Transarterial Chemoembolisation-Treated Early-Stage Hepatocelluar Carcinoma

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide.Transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) is the standardized therapy for intermediate stage HCC. However, theprognosis for HCC patients treated by TACE greatly varies. Thus, there is a critical need for finding biomarkersto predict the prognosis of HCC patients. The amino acid transporter-2 (ASCT2) is involved in tumorigenesisand progression of many malignancies. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive role of two single nuclearpolymorphisms (SNPs, rs3826793 and rs2070246) in the ASCT2 gene in HCC patients treated by TACE. Materialsand
Methods: Two functional SNPs (rs3826793 and rs2070246) in the ASCT2 gene were selected and genotypedusing the Sequenom iPLEX genotyping system in a cohort of 448 unresectable Chinese HCC patients treatedby TACE. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models and Kaplan-Meier curves were usedfor the prognosis analyses.
Results: There was no significant association between two SNPs (rs3826793 andrs2070246) in the ASCT2 gene and overall survival of TACE treated HCC patients. However, we demonstratedthat patients with early stage HCC carrying T genotype in rs2070246 showed better OS than those carrying CCgenotype (P=0.023).
Conclusions: We demonstrated that patients with early stage HCC carrying T genotype inrs2070246 showed better OS than those carrying CC genotype.