Proliferative ductular reactions correlate with hepatic progenitor cell and predict recurrence in HCC patients after curative resection

Background Ductular reactions (DRs) are well documented in many acute and chronic liver disease. The DRs are thought to be the transit amplifying cells deriving from activation of the stem/progenitor cell compartments of the liver. The aim of this study was to examine the presence of proliferative index of DR (PI-DR) and HPC markers’ expression in HCCs after curative hepatectomy, as well as their relationship with clinicopathological features and prognosis. Results Tissue microarray with peritumoral and intratumoral tissue samples of 120 HCCs after hepatectomy was analysed for peritumoral expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen for PI-DR. Peritumoral and intratumoral expression status of HPC markers including EpCAM, OV6, CD133 and c-kit were also examined by immunohistochemistry. TMA analysis of HCCs revealed that peritumoral PI-DR strongly correlated with the degree of inflammation and fibrosis. The peritumoral PI-DR positively correlated with peritumoral HPC markers EpCAM, OV6, CD133 and c-kit expression. Moreover, there were highly significant correlations between peritumoral PI-DR and intratumoral HPC markers EpCAM, OV6, CD133 and c-kit expression. Further, multivariate analysis showed that peritumoral PI-DR was the independent prognostic factor for overall survival (HR; 3.316, P < 0.001), and peritumoral PI-DR had a better power to predict disease-free survival (HR; 2.618, P < 0.001). Conclusions Peritumoral PI-DR, as a valid surrogate for peritumoral and intratumoral expression of HPC markers, could be served as a potential prognostic marker for recurrence and survival in HCC after hepatectomy.