The Clinical significance of Detection of Hepatocellular Specific AFP mRNA in Peripheral Venous Blood from Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Objective A sensitive method was attempted to detect the hepatocellular specific AFP mRNA in peripheral venous blood from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods Reverse transcription coupled with two step polymerase chain reaction (Nested RT PCR)was used to detect AFP mRNA expression in the peripheral blood obtained from patients with HCC and control groups. Results Detection of AFP mRNA expression was positive in 17 of 49 HCC patients(35%). 9 patients with clinically distant metastasis 6 were positive (67%).As control,AFP mRNA was not detected in samples from 19 cirrhosis,6 acute hepatitis,8 chronic hepatitis,5 benign liver tumor,6 intra hepatobiliary carcinoma,11 secondary liver cancer,and 13 normal healthy volunteers.The presence of AFP mRNA in blood seemed to be correlated with numbers of tumor foci in the live,the presence of portal vein thrombosis,distant metastasis and TNM stages of HCC,but have no correlation with serum AFP level. Conclusions The presence of AFP mRNA in peripheral blood may be used as an indicator of circulating HCC cells,which might predicate hematogenous spreading metastasis of tumor cells in HCC patients.