Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of antithrombin Ⅲ(AT3)gene in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)and its relationship with clinical features and prognosis.Methods The profiles of gene expression and related clinical data of 214 HCC tissues were collected from the public database.Correlation analysis was conducted to investigate the association between the level of AT3 expression and clinical features,and the prognosis.Results Univariate analysis showed that with the low expression of AT3 in HCC tissues,there were a higher level of blood alpha fetoprotein(AFP)(P＜0.001),a larger tumor size(P=0.015),a poorer TNM stage(P=0.001),and a higher metastasis risk(P＜0.001).Survival analysis showed that tumor size was larger(P=0.023),multiple nodules(P=0.047),simultaneous cirrhosis(P=0.016),a poorer TNM stage(P＜0.001),a higher metastasis risk(P=0.001),and the lower expression of AT3(P=0.005).These were the risk factors of prognosis.Multivarate Cox analysis also showed a negative association between the expression of AT3 and the prognosis of HCC(HR=0.850,95%CI:0.745~0.970,P=0.016).Conclusion The expression of AT3 in HCC is associated with the clinical characteristics and prognosis of the patients.The low expression of AT3 is one of the risk factors for the prognosis of HCC.

Key words: Hepatocellular carcinoma, AT3 gene, Clinical significance