Published online Jul 28, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i28.4404
Revised: November 13, 2004
Accepted: November 19, 2004
Published online: July 28, 2005
AIM: To investigate the possible role of c-erbB-2 and glutathione S-transferase (GST-Pi) in primary hepatocellular carcinogenesis and the relationship between liver hype-rplastic nodule (LHN), liver cirrhosis (LC), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
METHODS: The expression of c-erbB-2 and GST-Pi was detected immunohistochemically in 41 tissue specimens of HCC and 77 specimens of its adjacent tissue.
RESULTS: The positive expression of c-erbB-2 in LHN (28.6%) was significantly higher than that in LC (0%) (P = 0.032<0.05), but no significant difference was seen between HCC and LHN or LC (P>0.05, c2 = 0.002, 3.447). The positive expression of GST-Pi in HCC (89.6%) or LHN (71.1%) was significantly higher than that in LC (22.9%, P<0.001, c2 = 49.91, 16.96). There was a significant difference between HCC and LHN (P<0.05, c2 = 6.353).
CONCLUSION: The c-erbB-2 expression is an early event in the pathogenesis of HCC. GST-Pi may be a marker enzyme for immunohistochemical detection of human HCC and its preneoplastic lesions. LHN seems to be a preneoplastic lesion related to hepatocarcinogenesis.