RAD50 predicts the prognosis of hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

RAD50, which is involved in the DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair process, is also involved in cancer outcomes. However, its role in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. RAD50 increased in HCC tissues compared to normal tissues and was correlated with OS in the TCGA cohort. The validation analysis indicated that increased RAD50 was expressed in HCC tissues in the two independent cohorts, 107 and 100 patients from the Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical University of Nationalities (AHYMUN) and the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University (AHNTU), respectively. In addition, HCC patients with elevated RAD50 expression showed poor OS and DFS in the AHYMUN cohort and decreased OS and DFS in the AHNTU cohort. Furthermore, four datasets obtained from the Oncomine database validated the analysis of the differential expression of RAD50 in HCC tumors and normal tissues. In conclusion, our study reveals that elevated RAD50 expression is correlated with cancer progression and poor survival in HBV-related HCC patients. These data suggest that RAD50 may act as an oncogene and may serve as a promising therapeutic target for HCC patients.