Objective To investigate the expressions of Mina53 and CBX8 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to analyze their correlation with the clinicopathological features and prognosis of HCC patients.

Methods A total of 121 samples of HCC obtained by surgical resection were collected for tissue microarray construction. The expressions of Mina53 and CBX8 were detected by immunohistochemical PV6000 method in HCC and corresponding adjacent non-tumor tissues. Statistical analysis was performed by using SPSS23.0 software.

Results The expressions of Mina53 and CBX8 were both significantly higher in HCC than those in the adjacent non-tumor tissues (both P < 0.001). Expression of Mina53 was correlated with tumor size, capsular invasion, vascular invasion, tumor differentiation and TNM stage (all P < 0.05). Expression of CBX8 was closely correlated with HBsAg, tumor size, capsular invasion and TNM stage (all P < 0.05). The expressions of Mina53 and CBX8 were positively correlated (r=0.574, P < 0.01). Patients with high expressions of both Mina53 and CBX8 had shorter overall survival and disease-free survival than those with high expression of Mina53 or CBX8 or both low expressions of Mina53 and CBX8 (P < 0.05). Multivariate analyses showed that Mina53 and CBX8 expressions were independent influence factors for overall survival and disease-free survival of HCC patients (P < 0.05).

Conclusion The high expression of Mina53 and CBX8 may be correlated with the pathogenesis, invasion and metastasis of HCC. Patients with high expressions of both Mina53 and CBX8 have a poor prognosis, which indicates that the combined detection of Mina53 and CBX8 is conducive for predicting the prognosis of HCC patients.