miR-744 is a potential prognostic marker in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Identification of new biomarkers for aggressiveness of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to supplement the current group of prognosis algorithms is a significant clinical need. To clarify expression levels of microRNA-744 (miR-744) in HCC tissues and to explore its clinicopathological significance in HCC patients following liver transplantation (LT), we quantified miR-744 using real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in 96 paired cancerous tissues and para-cancerous normal liver tissues. We investigated relationships among miR-744 expression, clinicopathological parameters, and overall survival (OS). Of 96 paired samples, 68 cancer tissues expressed low miR-744 compared with their matched normal liver tissues. Patients with microvascular invasion or multi-tumor nodules showed significantly lower miR-744 expression; miR-744 was further decreased in patients with post-LT HCC recurrence compared with non-recurring patients. Patients with lower miR-744 expression showed significantly poorer recurrence-free survival and OS than individuals with higher miR-744 levels. Multivariate analysis revealed that lower miR-744 was an independent predictor of poor prognosis. Our results associate decreased miR-744 expression with HCC recurrence and prognosis, and also suggest that miR-744 is an independent predictor of survival in HCC patients after LT and may therefore be a potential biomarker for their prognosis.