Abstract: Objective To investigate the expression of mucin 15 (MUC15) in hepatocellular carcinoma and explore its association
with the prognosis of patients. Methods The expression of MUC15 was detected by quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting
in liver cell line L02, liver cancer cell lines HepG2, MHCC-97H, and SMMC-7721, and in 122 HCC and corresponding adjacent
non-tumor liver tissues. The association of MUC15 expression in HCC tissues with the clinical parameters and the patients’
survival was analyzed. Results The 1iver cell line L02 showed significantly higher MUC15 expression level than the liver
cancer cell lines HepG2, MHCC-97H, and SMMC-7721 (P<0.05). The expression level of MUC15 was markedly lower in the
HCC tissues than in the adjacent non-tumor liver tissues (P<0.05). MUC15 expression in the HCC tissues was significantly
correlated with the tumor TNM stage, intrahepatic or lymphatic metastasis, portal vein thrombosis and tumor differentiation
(P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis suggested that a low MUC15 expression was associated with a poor clinical prognosis
of the patients. Conclusion The expression of MUC15 is correlated with the clinicopathological features and prognosis of HCC
patients, and may potentially serve as a novel prognostic marker for HCC.