Effect of the expression of p27 on cell proliferation and apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

To investigate the effects of p27 on the cell proliferation and apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).The expression of p27 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA) was measured by immunohistochemical technique in cancer samples and paracancer tissues from 47 patients with HCC.And cell apoptosis was detected by TUNEL.The proliferatin index(P1) and apoptotic index(AI) in HCC tissues were significantly higher than that in paracancer tissues.The p27 labeling index(LI) was significantly lower in HCC than that in paracancer liver tissues or normal liver tissue.The p27 LI and AI in HCC tissues with low differentiation were significantly lower than those in HCC tissues with well differentiation.The p27 LI was significantly decreased in cases with extrahepatic metastasis.While the PI was just on the contrary.It suggested that the decreasing of p27 expression in HCC ws closely associated with HCC progression and metastasis,and might be involved in the imbalance of proliferation and apoptosis in HCC.