Abstract: Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of m⁶A demethylase alkylation repair protein B homolog 5 (ALKHB5) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues. Methods The paraffin-embedded specimens of cancer tissues and adjacent tissues (>3 cm from the lesion) were collected from 80 HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy in the Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University from January 2009 to August 2013. The expression of ALKBH5 was detected by immunohistochemistry, and its relationship with the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of the HCC patients was analyzed. Results The proportion of patients with high expression of ALKBH5 in HCC tissues was significantly lower than that in adjacent tissues (P=0.001), and correlated with the patient's tumor size and serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) levels (all P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the overall survival (P=0.011) and recurrence-free survival (P=0.012) of patients in the low ALKBH5 expression group were shortened. Multivariable Cox analysis showed that the low expression of ALKBH5 was an independent risk factor affecting the overall survival (HR=1.965, 95%CI: 1.029-3.751, P=0.041) and recurrence-free survival (HR=2.201, 95%CI: 1.046-4.629, P=0.038) of HCC patients. Conclusions The expression of ALKBH5 is down-regulated in HCC tissues, and the patients with low expression have poor prognosis, suggesting that ALKBH5 may be a potential prognostic indicator and therapeutic target of HCC.

Key words:  Hepatocellular carcinoma, Alkylation repair protein B homolog 5, m6A demethylase, Prognosis