Background: The urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) system is a serine proteinase system involved in extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation. The levels of uPA system components in tumor tissues are implicated as prognostic biomarkers in a wide range of malignancies. Although the contributions of uPA system components to the formation of many types of cancer are well known, their possible association with the prediction of risk and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains poorly investigated.
Methods: A total of 102 HCC patients and 344 controls were recruited. Genetic polymorphisms of uPA system genes, including uPA, uPA receptor (uPAR), and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1, were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) genotyping analysis.
Results: When individuals were classified into male and female subgroups to estimate adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of each uPA system gene, the HCC risks of males and females with PAI-1 5G/5G genotype were 6.06-fold (95% CI = 1.39-26.36) and 0.04-fold (95% CI = 0.003-0.69), respectively, as compared with those with PAI-1 4G/4G genotype. High risk for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive clinical status and significantly higher serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) concentration were exhibited in HCC patients with PAI-1 4G/5G and 5G/5G genotypes as compared with 4G/4G homozygotes.
Conclusions: The results suggest that PAI-1 genotypes could be an important factor contributing to increased susceptibility and pathological development of HCC in Taiwanese population.