Correlation of HMGB1 expression to progression and poor prognosis of adenocarcinoma and squamous cell/adenosquamous carcinoma of gallbladder

HMGB1 (High mobility group box 1) expressions in adenocarcinoma (AC) and squamous cell/adenosquamous (SC/ASC) carcinoma of gallbladder, as well as its prognostic significance, have not yet been evaluated. We investigated HMGB1 expression in 80 cases of AC gallbladder cancer and 52 cases of SC/ASC gallbladder cancer. Survival information was concomitantly collected. The association of HMGB1 expression with clinicopathological characteristics and the possible prognostic role of HMGB1 for two aforementioned subtypes of gallbladder cancers were also analyzed. siRNA technique was utilized to explore the role of HMGB1 in proliferation and invasion of gallbladder cancer cells in vitro. HMGB1 overexpression is present in AC and SC/ASC gallbladder cancers. HMGB1 expression significantly associates with growth and metastasis of AC and SC/ASC gallbladder cancers. In vitro cell experiments based on siRNA demonstrated that HMGB1 downregulation inhibits proliferation and invasion of gallbladder cancer cells. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that HMGB1 expression is negatively associated with overall survival time of patients with AC or SC/ASC gallbladder cancer. Cox multivariate analysis confirmed that HMGB1 is an independent risk factor for survival of patients with AC or SC/ASC gallbladder cancer. HMGB1 overexpression closely correlates with progression and poor prognosis of AC and SC/ASC gallbladder cancers.