Recipient C7 rs9292795 genotype and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after orthotopic liver transplantation in a Han Chinese population

Background Complement component(C7) gene has been shown to influence the prognosis in Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. The association between C7 and HCC recurrence after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), however, is still unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the donor and recipient C7 gene polymorphisms are related to HCC recurrence after OLT in the Han Chinese population. Methods A total of 73 consecutive patients with HCC who had undergone OLT, both donors and recipients, were involved in this research. A single nucleotide polymorphism of C7, rs9292795, was genotyped using Sequenom MassARRAY in the cohort. The expression of C7 and the association between C7 gene polymorphisms and HCC recurrence following OLT were analyzed by bioinformatics and statistical analysis, respectively. Results As shown in database, the expression of C7 was higher in HCC tissues than that in normal tissues, and represented a worse prognosis. We also found that recipient C7 rs9292795 polymorphism, rather than the donor, was significantly associated with HCC recurrence after OLT. Multivariate logistic regression analysis confirmed that TNM stage ( P = 0.001), Milan criteria ( P = 0.000) and recipient rs9292795 genotype (TT vs AA/AT, P = 0.008) were independent risk factors for HCC recurrence. Furthermore, the recipient carrying AA/AT showed higher recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) than that carrying TT ( P < 0.05). In Cox proportional hazards model, TNM stage, recipient rs9292795 genotype, and Milan criteria were identified as independent factors for RFS and OS ( P < 0.05) as well as pre-OLT serum alpha fetoprotein (AFP) level was associated with OS (P < 0.05). Conclusions Recipient C7 rs9292795 gene polymorphism is related to the recurrence of HCC after OLT, which may be a helpful prognostic marker for HCC patients who receive OLT.