Chromosomal imbalances detected by comparative genomic hybridization are associated with outcome of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND. Biologic characteristics of tumors are greatly affected by genetic aberrations. However, to the authors' knowledge there is no study that shows that cytogenetic information is useful for estimating prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS. Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis was performed in 41 HCCs to examine whether the analysis of cytogenetic aberrations allows us to estimate biologic behavior of HCC. RESULTS. Tumor recurrence was linked to the loss at 13q (P = 0.0027) and to the number of DNA copy number aberrations (DCNAs; P = 0.0003). The decrease in DNA copy number at 8p and 13q and amplification at 11q13 were significantly associated with unfavorable outcome of patients (P = 0.017, P = 0.012, and P = 0.00081, respectively). The number of DCNAs was significantly different between favorable and poor prognosis patients with HCC; 5.78 +/- 2.7 versus 11.13 +/- 4.8 (P = 0.004), and it was an independent prognostic marker in HCCs. CONCLUSIONS. The current study indicates that cytogenetic information provided by CGH is useful for estimating prognosis of patients with HCC. Cancer 2002;94: 746-51. (C) 2002 American Cancer Society.