Expression of c-Met in hepatocellular carcinoma.
- Author:
Hye Rin ROH
1
;
Hyuk Joon LEE
;
Sang Beom KIM
;
Seong Hoon KIM
;
Kyung Suk SUH
;
Kuhn Uk LEE
Author Information
1. Department of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
hepatocyte growth factor;
c-Met;
intrahepatic recurrence
- MeSH:
Blotting, Western;
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular*;
Epithelial Cells;
Hepatectomy;
Hepatocyte Growth Factor;
Humans;
Medical Records;
Necrosis;
Neoplasm Metastasis;
Protein-Tyrosine Kinases;
Proto-Oncogenes;
Recurrence;
Seoul
- From:Korean Journal of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery
2001;5(2):35-42
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND/AIMS: The c-met proto-oncogene encodes the tyrosine kinase receptor for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), a potent mitogen and motogen for epithelial cells. Because of its profound effects on cell growth and motility, HGF may be important in the development of cancer metastases in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We examined the expression of the c-met proto-oncogene product (c-Met) in the patients with HCCs to determine the relationship between the level of expression of c-Met and clinicopathological features, and patient outcome following hepatectomy. METHODS: Fifty patients with surgically resected hepatocellular carcinoma at Seoul National University Hospital from January 1997 to December 1998 were included in this study. Western blotting was used to examine the c-Met expression of tumor and surrounding tissues. The clinicopathologic features and treatment results of the patients were analyzed by medical records. Patients were divided into two groups, low c-met HCC and high c-met HCC. RESULTS: c-Met was not overexpressed in HCC compared to surrounding tissue. The expression of c- Met in tumor tissue was correlated with well-differentiated HCCs, and adversely correlated with tumor necrosis by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). There was no correlation between c-Met expression and intrahepatic recurrence. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, these results indicate that c-Met expression in HCC is not correlated with intrahepatic recurrence, and tumor necrosis by TACE reduces c-Met expression in tumor tissue. More large-scaled study is needed for exact relation between c-Met expression and clinicopathologic features of HCCs.
