Unveiling the expression profiles and functional significance of CD10 and CD34 in primary liver cancer

Abstract

Abstract: Objective To explore the biological roles of CD10 and CD34 in primary liver cancer (PLC), this study conducted analyses on their expressions and explored the clinical significance. Methods A total of 56 patients who underwent surgical resection for primary liver cancer at Wuxi Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine between March 2021 and March 2024 were enrolled. Immunohistochemistry Envision staining was used to detect CD10 and CD34 protein expression in post-operative cancer tissues. Spearman correlation analysis quantified the correlation coefficient between CD10 and CD34 expression to evaluate the correlation of them. Associations between marker levels and clinicopathological features (age, gender, tumor stage) were examined. Multiple statistical methods evaluated the prognostic value of CD10 and CD34 in PLC. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves determined diagnostic accuracy. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Log-rank tests compared survival outcomes across expression levels, and the Cox proportional hazards model identified independent prognostic factors by integrating marker expression with other clinical variables. Results Immunohistochemistry revealed CD10 positivity in 18 of 56 cases (32.14%) and CD34 positivity in 28 cases (50.00%). A significant positive correlation was observed between CD10 and CD34 expression (r=0.431, P=0.006), indicating coordinated regulation in liver cancer tissues. In PLC, CD10 expression differed significantly by gender (χ²=4.038, P<0.05), suggesting gender-dependent regulation. CD34 positivity correlated with patient prognosis (χ²=6.402, P<0.05). CD10 exhibited poor diagnostic accuracy, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.579 (standard error 0.095, 95%CI: 0.392~0.766), whereas CD34 showed the higher predictive value (AUC=0.704, standard error 0.085, 95%CI: 0.538~0.870). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the expressions of CD10 and CD34 both had a significant impact on the survival status of patients.Cox regression analysis identified tumor size, CD10, and CD34 expression as key predictors of liver cancer prognosis (all P<0.05). Conclusion CD10 and CD34 have high positive expression in PLC and were positively correlated. CD10 and CD34 could predict the survival status and the survival time of patients after operation. Both CD10 and CD34 were prognostic indicators.

Key words: Primary liver cancer, CD10, CD34, Prognosis

Guo Feiyu, Li Wei, Jing Fa. Unveiling the expression profiles and functional significance of CD10 and CD34 in primary liver cancer[J]. Chinese Hepatolgy, 2026, 31(6): 831-833.

References

[1] Fu Y, Maccioni L, Wang X W, et al. Alcohol-associated liver cancer[J]. Hepatology, 2024,80(6): 1462-1479.
[2] Yang F, Hilakivi-Clarke L, Shaha A, et al. Metabolic reprogramming and its clinical implication for liver cancer[J]. Hepatology, 2023,78(5): 1602-1624.
[3] Donne R, Lujambio A. The liver cancer immune microenvironment: therapeutic implications for hepatocellular carcinoma[J]. Hepatology, 2023,77(5): 1773-1796.
[4] Cheng K, Cai N, Zhu J, et al. Tumor-associated macrophages in liver cancer: from mechanisms to therapy[J]. Cancer Commun (Lond), 2022,42(11): 1112-1140.
[5] Mackowiak B, Fu Y, Maccioni L, et al. Alcohol-associated liver disease[J]. J Clin Invest, 2024,134(3).
[6] 郭飞宇, 杨军, 熊书名, 等. 表皮生长因子受体和胸苷酸合成酶在原发性肝癌中的表达和意义[J]. 中华肝脏病杂志, 2018,26(9): 666-669.
[7] Wang S, Xiao Y, An X, et al. A comprehensive review of the literature on CD10: its function, clinical application, and prospects[J]. Front Pharmacol, 2024,15:1336310.
[8] Wang H Y, Louis H, Costello C L, et al. A CD10-negative adult B-lymphoblastic leukaemia with amplification of KMT2A without rearrangement: a case report and review of the English literature[J]. Br J Haematol, 2024,205(1): 364-367.
[9] Meng Y, Ye F, Nie P, et al. Immunosuppressive CD10(+)ALPL(+) neutrophils promote resistance to anti-PD-1 therapy in HCC by mediating irreversible exhaustion of T cells[J]. J Hepatol, 2023,79(6): 1435-1449.
[10] Sasaki Y, Murai S, Okamura R, et al. CD5-and CD10- positive MYC and BCL2 double-expressor diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with MYD88L265P mutation: a case report and literature review[J]. Rinsho Ketsueki, 2023,64(1): 42-48.
[11] Castillo D R, Park D, Jeon W J, et al. Unveiling the prognostic significance of BCL6+/CD10+ mantle cell lymphoma: meta-analysis of individual patients and systematic review[J]. Int J Mol Sci, 2023,24(12).
[12] Hino C, Pham B, Gray A L, et al. Clinicopathologic features and treatment of CD10-positive mantle cell lymphoma: a case report and review of literature[J]. Pathol Oncol Res, 2022,28:1610588.
[13] Carreras J, Hamoudi R, Nakamura N. Artificial intelligence and classification of mature lymphoid neoplasms[J]. Explor Target Antitumor Ther, 2024,5(2): 332-348.
[14] Qorbani A, Horvai A. Atypical spindle cell/pleomorphic lipomatous tumor[J]. Surg Pathol Clin, 2024,17(1): 97-104.
[15] Torlakovic E E, Calvo K R, George T, et al. Clinical applications of bone marrow CD34 immunohistochemistry (BM CD34 IHC) assay: international council for standardization in Hematology (ICSH) Guidelines[J]. Int J Lab Hematol, 2024.
[16] Stanek J. E-cadherin/CD34 double immunostaining in placental diagnosis[J]. Pol J Pathol, 2024,75(3): 171-181.
[17] Tariq A R, Lee M, Kim M. Endothelial progenitor cells: a brief update[J]. Int J Stem Cells, 2024,17(4): 374-380.
[18] Capelli D. FLT3-mutated leukemic stem cells: mechanisms of resistance and new therapeutic targets[J]. Cancers (Basel), 2024,16(10).
[19] Bigi F, Manzato E, Barbato S, et al. Impact of anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody therapy on CD34⁺ hematopoietic stem cell mobilization, collection, and engraftment in multiple myeloma patients-a systematic review[J]. Pharmaceuticals (Basel), 2024,17(7).
[20] Gama H, Albuquerque R, Campos W D, et al. CD34 immunostaining adds specificity to microvascular invasion analysis in hepatocellular carcinoma[J]. J Hepatocell Carcinoma, 2023,10:91-98.