Clinical significance of loss of heterozygosity for M6P/IGF2R in patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma

Aim: To investigate the relationship between loss of heterozygosity (LOH) for mannose 6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor 2 receptor (M6P/ IGF2R) and the outcomes for primary HCC patients treated with partial hepatectomy. Methods: The LOH for M6P/IGF2R in primary HCC patients was assessed using six different gene-specific nucleotide polymorphisms. The patients studied were enrolled to undergo partial hepatectomy. Results: M6P/IGF2R was found to be polymorphic in 73.3% (22/30) of the patients, and of these patients, 50.0% (11/22) had tumors showing LOH in M6P/IGF2R. Loss of heterozygosity in M6P/IGF2R was associated with significant reductions in the two year overall survival rate (24.9% vs 65.5%; P = 0.04) and the disease-free survival rate (17.8% vs 59.3%; P = 0.03). Conclusion: These results show M6P/IGF2R LOH predicts poor clinical outcomes in surgically resected primary HCC patients.