RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Down-regulation of RASA1 Is Associated with Poor Prognosis in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma JF Anticancer Research JO Anticancer Res FD International Institute of Anticancer Research SP 781 OP 785 VO 37 IS 2 A1 YAO-LI CHEN A1 WEI-CHIEH HUANG A1 HSIN-LEI YAO A1 PO-MING CHEN A1 PING-YI LIN A1 FU-YU FENG A1 PEI-YI CHU YR 2017 UL http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/37/2/781.abstract AB Background/Aim: RASA1 (p120RasGAP), encodes Ras GTPase-activating protein 1 and, is a potent tumor suppressor gene that is frequently inactivated in several human cancer types. However, its precise role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been blurred. Materials and Methods: We hypothesized that RASA1 plays a crucial role in tumor pathogenesis and progression of HCC. RASA1 expression levels were analyzed in 226 cases of HCC by immunohistochemistry. Results: It was found that 38.68% (41/106) of the high-grade HCC samples and 54.17% (65/120) of the low-grade HCC samples expressed RASA1 protein. The difference between RASA1 expression in high-grade and low-grade HCC was statistically significant (p=0.02). Additionally, RASA1 high expression was inversely associated with larger tumor size (p<0.001). Although RASA1 is known as a tumor suppressor, its role in overall survival (OS) in HCC is unclear. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients with low level of RASA1 expression correlated with a significantly poorer survival compared to those with high level of RASA1 expression. Conclusion: These data support that RASA1 could serve as an independent prognostic marker for HCC patients.