High PKM2 expression is independently correlated with decreased overall survival in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most lethal and malignant types of cancer that affects global human health. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of pyruvate kinase muscle isozyme M2 (PKM2) expression on the clinical features and prognosis of HCC. The present study employed univariate logistic regression to investigate the correlation between PKM2 expression and clinical features. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to estimate the independent effect of PKM2 expression on survival status. The results revealed that patients in the high PKM2 group (≥11.25) exhibited significantly lower creatinine levels (P=0.043), higher fetoprotein levels (P<0.001), advanced stage (P<0.001) and higher grade (P=0.004) compared with patients with low PKM2 expression levels (<11.25). In addition, patients with high PKM2 expression exhibited poor prognosis compared with patients with low PKM2 expression. After correcting the covariates, PKM2 expression remains significantly associated with reduced overall survival (P<0.05). These findings suggested that PKM2 is an independent risk factor for HCC and provides valuable information for future studies on the pathogenesis of HCC and drug discovery.