Expression and clinical significance of CD44v6, VEGF and MMP-9 in hepatocellular carcinoma tissae

Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of CD44v6,VEGF and MMP-9 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods The expression levels of CD44v6,VEGF and MMP-9 were measured by immunohistochemistry in the resected specimens from 60 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and 20 normal liver tissues (controls).Results The positive rates of CD44v6,VEGF and MMP-9 were significantly higher in the hepatocellular carcinoma patients than those in controls (P ＜ 0.05 ).The positive rates of CD44v6,VEGF and MMP-9 in Ⅲ-Ⅳ stage were significantly higher than those of patients in I - Ⅱ stage tumor (P ＜ 0.05 ).The positive rates of CD44v6,VEGF and MMP-9 in lymph node metastasis tumor were significantly higher than those of patients in non metastasis tumor (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions CD44v6,VEGF and MMP-9 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma increases markedly and plays an important role in progression of hepatocellular carcinoma. Key words: Hepatocellular carcinoma;  CD44v6;  Vascular endothelial growth factor;  Matrix metalloproteinase-9 ;  Immunohistochemistry