Associations Between Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of Hypoxia-Related Genes and Capsule Formation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Purpose: Tumor capsule is an independent prognostic factor for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and used increasingly to guide clinical decision-making. Considering the genetic complexity for capsule formation and its potential association with hypoxia, the significance of the polymorphisms of hypoxia-related genes in capsule formation and HCC prognosis remains to be elucidated. Patients and Methods: Peripheral blood samples from HCC patients were collected in this study. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping was conducted by the iPLEX chemistry on a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (Sequenom, Inc.). The demographic and clinical data for the patients were obtained through medical chart review and/ or consultation with the treating physicians. SPSS 25.0, R 4.1.1, and PLINK toolset were used to perform statistical analysis. Results: A total of 183 patients were enrolled, including 88 patients assigned to the capsule group and 95 to the non-capsule group. SLC2A1 rs841858 T allele, SLC2A1 rs2297977 T allele, STAT1 rs1547550 C allele, and STAT1 rs34997637 G allele were associated with significantly increased risk of capsule formation. The genotypes of SLC2A1 rs841858, SLC2A1 rs2297977, STAT1 rs34997637, and STAT1 rs1914408 were significantly associated with the formation of HCC capsule. The polymorphisms of STAT1 rs2066802, STAT1 rs12693591, and HIF1A rs2057482 showed close relationship with the prognosis of HCC patients in the capsule group, while the genotype distributions of CTNNB1 rs4135385, IFNG rs1861494, and SERPINE1 rs2227631 were closely related to the survival of patients in the non-capsule group. Further haplotype analysis suggested that SLC2A1 block 1 and STAT1 block 2 were related to the susceptibility of HCC capsule. Conclusion: The polymorphisms of the hypoxia-related genes (HIF1A, SERPINE1, IFNG, STAT1, CTNNB1, and SLC2A1) were correlated with the formation of HCC capsule. Several SNPs in these genes also showed association with HCC prognosis except SLC2A1. Further functional studies are warranted to explore the underlying mechanisms.