Clinical Significance of MYBL2 Expression in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Impact on Overall Survival.

PURPOSE: Transcription factor MYB proto-oncogene like 2 (MYBL2) is involved in cell cycle regulation and proliferation, and it has been implicated in various cancers. However, its expression pattern and clinical significance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the tissue expression of MYBL2 in patients with HCC and evaluate associations with clinicopathological factors and prognosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We enrolled 88 patients with HCC who underwent hepatectomy from October 2023 to January 2025 and analyzed MYBL2 expressions in non-tumorous and tumorous tissue samples using immunohistochemistry. The patients were then categorized into high and low expression groups, and clinicopathological factors were compared. Cox proportional hazard regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were used to explore the prognostic significance of MYBL2 expression. RESULTS: MYBL2 immunohistochemistry score was significantly associated with survival (p for trend = 0.038). Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that those with a high MYBL2 expression were associated with lower overall survival compared to those with a low MYBL2 expression (p = 0.029). An independent association was found between high MYBL2 expression in tumorous tissues and poor overall survival (p = 0.047). However, multivariate analysis indicated that MYBL2 expression was not an independent risk factor for overall survival. CONCLUSION: The results indicated an association between MYBL2 and HCC prognosis, suggesting that it could be used as a prognostic biomarker and potentially be a therapeutic target. Further research is required to clarify the molecular mechanisms by which MYBL2 drives tumor progression and to explore its potential in targeted therapy for HCC.