Abstract:

Objective The present study evaluated the expression of Ferroportin 1（FPN1） and  transporter 1（DMT1） in cancer tissues of HCC patients and the potential relationship with clinico-pathological characteristics and efficacy of chemotherapy or sorafenib. Methods Clinical data were retrospectively reviewed for patients who experienced tumor recurrence or metastasis after radical resection and treated by chemotherapy or sorafenib，expression of FPN1 and DMT1 was analyzed in cancer tissues using immunohistochemistry and explored for possible correlation with clinico-pathological characteristics.  Results FPN1 expression was detected in 62.96% of HCC tissues，and DMT1 expression was detected in 81.48%. Expression of each protein correlated significantly with extent of tumor differentiation（P<0.05）. Most patients （16） took chemotherapy consisting of oxaliplatin and S-1，while the remaining 11 took sorafenib. No patients experienced complete remission. Among patients receiving chemotherapy，partial remission occurred in 2 patients and stable disease in 2；altogether，this translated to a disease control rate of 25%. Among patients taking sorafenib，the corresponding numbers were 1，2 and 27.3%. Among all patients，median progression-free survival（PFS） was 5.4 months and median overall survival（OS） was 10.0 months. Among FPN1-positive patients，the disease control rate was 41.2%，median PFS was 6.7 months，and median OS was 15.7 months. The corresponding numbers among FPN1-negative patients were 10.0%，1.8 months and 8 months. Among DMT1-positive patients，the disease control rate was 18.2%，median PFS was 3.2 months，and median OS was 9.3 months. The corresponding numbers among DMT1-negative patients were 60.0%，18.6 months and 35.9 months. Both PFS and OS differed significantly between patients negative or positive for FPN1 or DMT1. Conclusion Expression of FPN1 and DMT1 in HCC cancer tissues is associated with tumor differenti-ation，and may influence HCC patient outcomes，which merits further study.

Key words: Liver neoplasms, Ferroportin 1, Metal transporter 1, Chemotherapy, Targeted therapy, Sorafenib