Expression Of Trpm8 In Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma And Its Clinical Significance

ObjectiveTRPM8, a member of subgroup of TRP super family, plays a crucial role in a variety of physiological functions. Recent reports has been suggested that TRPM8 was involved in Temperature, Pain sensation, and regulation of cell growth and death. To elucidate its role in hepatocarcinogenesis, we analyzed the expression of TRPM8 with different age, gender, tumor stages, differentiation, portal vein tumor embolus, tumor number and size.Method1. Tissue samples and clinical data were obtained from 57 patients with Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) who underwent hepatectomy between Mar,2005 to Jun,2009 at the Department of Surgery, Xiangya 2nd Hospital, Central South University. Those samples were pathologically confirmed HCC; hepatocirrhosis, hepatitis and PCHT.2. Clinical data were recorded such as histological type and differentiation, age, gender, tumor size and number, portal vein tumor embolus, TNM stages.3. The expression of TRPM8 were assessed by immunohistochemistry (SP method). Furthermore, the location of TRPM8 protein, the correlations between expression of TRPM8 and clinicopathologic parameters including the tumor cell differentiation, tumor size and number, portal vein tumor embolus, et al, were semiquantitative analyzed.4. Datas were analyzed by SPSS 17.0 for windows software package.Result1. Immunohistochemistry studies showed that TRPM8 located in cytoplasm.2. Immunohistochemistry studies showed that high expression of TRPM8 was observed in 39(68.4%) non-tumor tissues samples of 57 HCC, while 29 (59.64%)cases were overexpressed in the corresponding tumor tissues.3. Clinicopathological evaluation indicated no significant correlation between TRPM8 expression and age, gender, tumor size and number of HCC patients, but it indicated a significant correlation between TRPM8 expression and histopathological differentiation among clinicopathological parameters (p=0.001), and it also indicated a significant correlation between TRPM8 expression and portal vein tumor embolus (p=0.001).ConclusionsTRPM8 expressed both in non-tumor tissues samples and tumor tissues of HCC. Clinicopathological evaluation indicated a significant correlation between TRPM8 expression and histopathological differentiation, portal vein tumor embolus.Our results indicate that TRPM8 may play roles in hepatocarcinogenesis and can be potentially used as a prognostic indicator of HCC.