Abstract: ObjectiveTo investigate the expression of high mobility group box A2 （HMGA2） in hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） tissues as well as its relationship with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis. 
MethodsIn this study， 120 cases of surgically resected HCC tissues， paracancerous tissues and normal liver tissues were collected from January 2011 to December 2012. The expression of HMGA2 in the above tissues was detected by immunohistochemical SP. The expression of HMGA2 and HCC clinicopathological parameters （sex， age， differentiation， TNM staging， hepatic hilar lymph node metastasis， number of tumor foci， tumor size and intrahepatic metastasis） were analyzed. The prognosis of HCC patients with different HMGA2 expression was analyzed according to the followup data. 
ResultsImmunohistochemistry showed that the nuclei with HMGA2 expression in cells were brownish yellow or tan. The positive rate of HMGA2 in HCC tissue was 6417％ （77／120）， higher than 834％ （10／120） of paracancerous tissues and 417％ （5／120） of normal tissue （P＜005）. There was no significant difference in the positive rates of HMGA2 between paracancerous tissues and normal tissues （P＞005）. The expression of HMGA2 was related to the degree of differentiation of HCC， TNM staging， hepatic hilar lymph node metastasis， number of tumor foci， tumor size and intrahepatic metastasis （P＜005）， but not related to sex and age （P＞005）. The median overall survival （OS） were 135 months for patients with HMGA2 positive expression and ＞600 months for patients with HMGA2 negative expression. Patients with HMGA2 negative expression had a longer median OS （P＜005）. The results of single factor analysis showed that HMGA2 expression， TNM staging， intrahepatic metastasis， hilar lymph node metastasis， number of tumor foci， tumor size and degree of differentiation were related to OS of HCC patients. Multivariate analysis of Cox regression showed that HMGA2 expression was an independent risk factor for HCC prognosis （HR=2516， 95％CI： 16433855）. 
ConclusionThe expression of HMGA2 protein in HCC tissue is elevated， and it participates in the development of HCC. The prognosis of HMGA2 positive expression is poor. This protein may be a potential prognostic indicator of HCC.

Key words: Hepatocellular carcinoma, High mobility group protein A2, Clinical significance, Prognosis