Figure 1

sBTLA levels predicts outcome of patients with HCC. (a) Kaplan-Meier survival analysis of 53 patients with advanced HCC at baseline including high levels of sBTLA and low levels of sBTLA. (b) Immunohistochemical staining of BTLA in liver tissues of four patients with HCC. Case 1 was a 21-year-old woman with HBV-related, huge but solitary HCC. Sorafenib was started 17 months after surgery, due to multiple intrahepatic recurrences and lung metastases. The plasma level of sBTLA was 807 pg/mL at the start of sorafenib treatment. Case 2 was a 73-year-old man with HCV-related, solitary HCC with a diameter of 45 mm. Sorafenib was started 12 months after surgery because of multiple intrahepatic recurrences and bone metastases. The plasma sBTLA level was 1,099 pg/mL prior to treatment. Case 3 was a 64-year-old man with alcoholic cirrhosis and solitary HCC at a diameter of 40 mm. Sorafenib was started 6 months after the operation, because of multiple intrahepatic recurrences and hilar lymph node metastasis. Plasma sBTLA levels were 311.08 pg/mL at the time of surgery and 98.9 pg/mL prior to treatment. Case 4 was a 77-year-old woman with HCV-related and solitary HCC with a diameter of 50 mm. Sorafenib treatment was initiated 5 months after surgery because of bone metastasis. PT: peri-tumoral, T: tumor. Scale bar, 50 μm. (c) Double immunofluorescent staining of BTLA (green) with CK18 (red), (d) CD68 (red), CD3 (red) or CD20 (red) in HCC tissues obtained from Case 3. Scale bar, 50 μm.