Sex-related differences in DNA copy number alterations in hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma

Zhong Zheng Zhu*, Dong Wang, Wen Ming Cong, Hongmei Jiang, Yue Yu, Bing Ji Wen, Hui Dong, Xiao Zhang, Shu Fang Liu, Ai Zhong Wang, Guanshan Zhu, Lifang Hou

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Males have a higher prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) than females in general, but the reasons for the sex disparity are still obscure. DNA copy number alteration (CNA) is a major feature of solid tumors including HCC, but whether CNA plays a role in sex-related differences in HCC development has never been evaluated. Methods: High-resolution array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) was used to examine 17 female and 46 male HCC patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Shanghai, China. Two-tailed Fisher's exact or χ2 tests was used to compare CNAs between females and males. Results: The overall frequencies and patterns of CNAs in female and male cases were similar. However, female HCC tumors presented more copy number gains compared to those in males on 1q21.3-q22 (76.5% vs. 37.0%, P = 0.009), 11q11 (35.3% vs. 0.0%, P = 0.0002) and 19q13.31-q13.32 (23.5% vs. 0.0%, P = 0.004), and loss on 16p11.2 (35.3% vs. 6.5%, P = 0.009). Relative to females, male cases had greater copy number loss on 11q11 (63.0% vs. 17.6%, P = 0.002). Further analyses showed that 11q11 gain correlated with 19q13.31-q13.32 gain (P = 0.042), 11q11 loss (P = 0.011) and 16p11.2 loss (P = 0.033), while 1q21.3-q22 gain correlated with 19q13.31-q13.32 gain (P = 0.046). Conclusions: These findings suggest that CNAs may play a role in sex-related differences in HBV-associated HCC development.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)225-229
Number of pages5
JournalAsian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2012

Keywords

  • Array comparative genomic hybridization
  • Copy number alteration
  • Hepatocellular carcinoma
  • Sex

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Epidemiology
  • Oncology
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Cancer Research

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