Effect of Fibroblast Growth Factor-2 and its Receptor Gene Polymorphisms on the Survival of Patients With Hepatitis B Virus-associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background/Aim: Fibroblast growth factor (FGF), vascular endothelial growth factor, and hepatocyte growth factor play a critical role in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials and Methods: We assessed nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the FGF1, FGF2, FGF receptor (FGFR)-2, Flt-1, and c-MET genes in 245 HCC patients and 483 chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers without HCC. Results: Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with the FGF2 rs308447 TT genotype had shorter overall survival than patients with the CC or CT genotype (p=0.016) and that FGF2 rs308379 A allele carriers had shorter overall survival than patients with the TT genotype (p=0.020). Conclusion: Multivariate Cox proportional analysis revealed that the FGF2 rs308379 A allele (hazard ratio(HR)=1.663, p=0.004) and advanced tumor stage (HR=3.430, p<0.001) were independent prognostic factors for overall survival in patients with HCC.