High expression of YTHDF1 predicts worse survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma within the Milan criteria

Abstract Background The prognostic significance of YTHDF1 among patients with HCC within the Milan criteria has not been fully investigated. The present study was performed to identify its prognostic significance of YTHDF1 among patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within the Milan criteria. Methods The expression levels of YTHDF1 in HCC and normal tissues were initially assessed by analyzing the data extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Then we performed immunohistochemical staining to further evaluate its expression levels in HCC. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were accomplished to identify the independent prognostic factors for patients with HCC within the Milan criteria. Results According to bioinformatics analysis, YTHDF1 was significantly upregulated in HCC compared with normal liver tissues. It was then revealed that YTHDF1 expression was significantly associated with tumor number (P = 0.019), tumor size (P = 0.036), and microvascular invasion (MVI) (P = 0.033). Through univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis, it was demonstrated that along with tumor size (P = 0.012, HR = 2.725, 95%CI 1.249–5.946) and MVI (P < 0.001, HR = 3.494, 95%CI 1.919–6.363), high expression of YTHDF1 was an independent predictive factor for overall survival (OS) (P = 0.032, HR = 1.995, 95%CI 1.060–3.755) of patients with HCC within the Milan criteria. Similarly, high YTHDF1 expression was also proven as an independent predictive factor for recurrence-free survival (RFS) (P = 0.037, HR = 1.645, 95%CI 1.030–2.627) of patients with HCC within the Milan criteria. Conclusions YTHDF1 is significantly up-regulated in HCC and its high expression is significantly associated with worse OS and RFS of patients with HCC within the Milan criteria.