A comparative study on mRNA of AFP and albumin in peripheral blood as indicators in micro-metastasis of hepatocarcinoma cell

Objective To study the specificity of AFP mRNA and albumin mRNA (ALB mRNA)-positive cells in the peripheral blood as an indicator for circulating malignant hepatocyte.Method Using RT-PCR/Southern blot to detect the AFP mRNA and ALB mRNA in the peripheral blood from 29 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and 41 cases without HCC (8 of cirrhosis,4 of acute hepatitis,15 of chronic hepatitis,2 of hepatic angioma,2 of non-HCC hepatic tumor and 10 normal volunteer).Results In the patients with HCC,AFP mRNA was found in 12 of 29 cases (41.4%) and ALB mRNA was found in 13 of 29 cases (44.8%).In the control group,tAFPmRNA was not found,while ALB mRNA was found in 12 of 41 cases (29.2%).There was a significant difference for AFP mRNA positive rate between the two groups (P0.05) and no significant difference for ALB mRNA positive rates between the two groups (P≥0.05).Conclusion As indicators of liver cancer cell in peripheral blood,AFP mRNA was more specific than ALB mRNA.