system
Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: BACKGROUND, METHODS, RESULTS. Meshes: Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Biomarkers, Blood Vessels, CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes, Carcinoma, Hepatocellular, Disease-Free Survival, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Gene Expression, Hepatectomy, Humans, Interferon-gamma, Liver, Liver Neoplasms, Lymphocyte Count, Male, Middle Aged, Neoplasm Grading, Neoplasm Invasiveness, Neoplasm Recurrence, Local, Neoplasm Staging, Prospective Studies, Protein Precursors, Prothrombin, RNA, Messenger, STAT4 Transcription Factor, Tumor Burden.
user
Is high STAT4 expression a better prognostic indicator in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy? Context: Signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4) mediates the intracellular effects of interleukin-12, leading to the production of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and natural killer cells cytotoxicity. However, the clinical significance of STAT4 expression in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains virtually unknown. A total of 66 HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy were enrolled in this study. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to determine STAT4 and IFNG mRNA expression levels. Tissue microarray-based immunohistochemistry was performed to examine CD8(+) T cells, STAT4, and INF-γ proteins. STAT4 was differentially expressed in tumor and nontumor tissues (P = 0.001) and positively correlated with IFNG expression (R (2) = 0.506, P < 0.05) and CD8(+) T cell infiltration (R (2) = 0.53, P < 0.001). Significant correlations were observed between STAT4 expression and tumor TNM stage (P = 0.043), hepatic venous invasion (P = 0.003), des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (P = 0.011), tumor size (P = 0.036), and tumor differentiation (P = 0.034). Patients with high STAT4 expression had significantly better recurrence-free survival (P = 0.009). Low STAT4 expression (P = 0.030) and presence of portal venous invasion or hepatic venous invasion (P = 0.006) were independent risk factors for HCC recurrence.
assistant
Downregulation of STAT4 in HCC indicated aggressive tumor behavior and predicted a worse clinical outcome. STAT4 might be a useful biomarker to identify patients at high risk of recurrence after hepatectomy. Final Decision: yes