OBJECTIVETo investigate expression of the cysteinyl leukotriene receptor (CysLT1R) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and determine its clinical significance.

METHODSCancerous and paraneoplastic liver tissues were collected from 30 patients with HCC and from 12 patients with liver hemangioma patients (controls). Real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to evaluate the expression of CysLT1R in these tissues and assess the relationship with clinical pathological features. T-test,?Fisher's exact test and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTSThe expression of CysLT1R in adjacent liver tissues (100%) was higher than that in the HCC (43.33%, P = 0.000) and normal liver tissues (41.67%, P = 0.000). The level of CysLT1R mRNA was also higher in paraneoplastic liver tissues (0.0339+/-0.0221) than in the paired HCC tissues (0.0127+/-0.0116, t = 2.911, P = 0.008) and normal liver tissues (0.0154+/-0.0123, t = -2.310, P = 0.033). There was no difference between the levels in HCC and normal liver tissues (P more than 0.05). Higher level of CysLT1R mRNA, higher level of serum alpha-fetoprotein, and higher tumor stage (III-IV) were associated with poor prognosis (respectively 4.372, P = 0.037; 24.187, P = 0.000; 8.75, P = 0.003). However, no evident relationship between the expression of CysLT1R and other clinical features was observed. Conclusions Overexpression of CysLT1R may contribute to the occurrence and progression of HCC.