Circulating Galectin-3: A Prognostic Biomarker in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Shadi Chamseddine ¹, Betul Gok Yavuz ², Yehia I Mohamed ¹

¹Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
²Department of Internal Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
³Department of Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
⁴Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁵Department of Epidemiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
⁶Steele Laboratories, Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁷Department of Hematology and Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.
⁸Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
⁹Department of Surgery, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
¹⁰Department of Hematopathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
¹¹MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA.

⁰Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.

Journal of Immunotherapy and Precision Oncology +

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November 11, 2024

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

High galectin-3 levels in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients indicate a poorer prognosis. This study identifies serum galectin-3 as a potential prognostic biomarker for HCC, aiding in patient outcome prediction.

Area Of Science

Oncology
Biomarker Discovery
Hepatology

Background

Galectin-3 is implicated in tumor cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation.
Emerging evidence suggests galectin-3's involvement in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development.
The prognostic significance of galectin-3 in HCC requires validation.

Purpose Of The Study

To investigate the clinical utility of galectin-3.
To determine the prognostic value of galectin-3 in patients diagnosed with HCC.

Main Methods

Prospective enrollment of 767 HCC patients and 200 controls.
Collection of clinicopathologic data and serum samples.
Kaplan-Meier method for overall survival (OS) analysis.

Main Results

High galectin-3 levels correlated with significantly inferior overall survival (median OS: 10.12 vs. 16.49 months, p=0.0022).
Multivariate analysis revealed high galectin-3 as a predictor of poor OS (HR=1.249).
Elevated galectin-3 was associated with hepatitis C virus infection, higher Child-Pugh score, and CLIP score.

Conclusions

Serum galectin-3 level demonstrates potential as a prognostic biomarker for HCC.
This finding supports the clinical evaluation of galectin-3 for patient outcome assessment in HCC.

Keywords:

biomarker galectin-3 hepatocellular carcinoma overall survival prognostic biomarkers