Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to explore the implication of thyroid transcription factor (TTF)-1, p53 and p63 protein expression in cancerous tissues in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods 56 patients with HCC were encountered in our hospital between January 2019 and December 2021, and all underwent hepatectomy. All the patients were followed-up for two years. The expression of TTF-1, p53 and p63 in cancerous and adjacent non-cancerous tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry. Results The positive rate of cancerous TIF-1 expression was 33.9%, much lower than 73.2%(P＜0.05), while the positive rates of p53 and p63 expression were 76.8% and 64.3%, much higher than 7.1% and 32.1%(P＜0.05) in non-cancerous tissues; the positive rates of cancerous TIF-1 expression in 34 HCC patients with stage Ⅰ/Ⅱ, and 19 HCC patients high-differentiated tumor were 47.1% and 63.1%, both significantly higher than 13.6% and 18.9%(P＜0.05) in 22 patients with stage Ⅲ/Ⅳ, and in 37 patients with moderate-/low-differentiated tumors; the positive rates of p53 expression in patients with stage Ⅲ/Ⅳ, in 38 patients with lymph node metastasis, in 21 patients with low-differentiated tumor and in 22 patients with portal cancerous thrombosis were 95.4%, 89.5%, 100.0% and 95.4%, all significantly higher than 64.7%, 50.0%, 59.5% and 64.7% (P＜0.05); the positive rates of cancerous p63 expression in patients with stage Ⅲ/Ⅳ, with lymph node metastasis and low-differentiated tumor were 86.4%, 73.7% and 85.7%, significantly higher than 50.0%, 44.4% and 48.7%(P＜0.05) in patients with stage Ⅰ/Ⅱ, without lymph node metastasis and with moderate/high differentiated tumors; the one-year and two-year survival rates in 19 patients with cancerous TTF-1 expression positive were 84.2% and 73.3%, both significantly higher than 51.4% and 35.1%(P＜0.05) in 37 patients with cancerous TIF-1 negative; the one-year and two-year survival rates in 43 patients with cancerous p53 positive were 53.5% and 39.3%, much lower than 92.3% and 76.9%(P＜0.05) in 13 patients with p53 negative; the one-year and two-year survival rates in 36 patients with p63 positive were 47.2% and 33.3%, much lower than 90.0% and 75.0%(P＜0.05) in 20 patients with p63 negative. Conclusion The decreased expression of TTF-1, and the elevated modulation of p53 and p63 might take part in the hepatocarcinogenesis in patients with HCC, and needs further investigation.

Key words: Hepatocellular carcinoma, Thyroid transcription factor-1, p53 gene, p63 gene, Survival