China ; Hepatectomy ; methods ; trends ; Humans

Animals ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; genetics ; virology ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; complications ; Hepatitis C, Chronic ; complications ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; genetics ; virology ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; genetics ; Point Mutation ; Telomerase ; metabolism

Early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is still a great challenge in clinical practice.Tumor markers such as alpha-fetoprotein(AFP),liver enzymes,cytokines,and some special glycoproteins,though helpful,are not sensitive and specific enough for early diagnosis of HCC.The establishment of several interesting predictive diagnostic models on liver fi- brosis/cirrhosis suggests that mathematic predictive model,which is developed based on large sample size and follow-up study, might be of higher sensitivity,specificity and feasibility in clinical application.Here we suggest that more attention should be paid to this kind of multi-parameter predictive diagnostic models clinically,so as to improve the early diagnosis of HCC in a more economical and feasible way.

Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology

Cardiomyopathies ; therapy ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

OBJECTIVBE To investigate the intervention of compound Astragalus and Salvia milt-iorrhiza extract (CASE) consisted of astragalosides, astragalus polysaccharides and salvianolic acids on the interaction of microRNA-145/microRNA-21 (miR-145/miR-21) and Smad3C/3L phosphorylation (pSmad3C/pSmad3L) down-stream of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression by in vitro and in vivo experi-ments. METHODS In HepG2 cells and xenografts of nude mice, antagomir/agomir and plasmids of Smad3C/3L phosphorylation site mutation (Smad3 3S-A/Smad3 EPSM) were used to intervene miR-145/miR-21 and pSmad3C/pSmad3L expression respectively,then incorporative CASE treatment. Cell proliferation, migration, apoptosis, tumor growth and histopathologic characteristics of xenografts, relevant proteins of TGF-β/Smad pathway and miR-145/miR-21 were evaluated.RESULTS CASE up-regulated miR-145 while down-regulated miR-21, inhibited cell proliferation,migration and tumor growth, accelerated cell apoptosis in HepG2 cells respectively transfected with Smad3 WT, Smad3 EPSM,Smad3 3S-A plasmids in cultured dishes and xenografts of nude mice,the above effects were more evident in HepG2 cells with increased pSmad3C.In TGF-β1-stimulated HepG2 cells and xenografts of nude mice, CASE antagonized the facilitating effects of miR-145 antagomir/miR-21 agomir on cell migration,proliferation,tumor growth and inhibiting effects of miR-145 antagomir/miR-21 agomir on cell apoptosis; CASE increased miR-145 down-regulated by miR-145 antagomir and decreased miR-21 up-regulated by miR-21 agomir,reduced protein level of pSmad3L and their proteins including TβRⅡ, pERK1/2, pJNK1/2 and pp38 while elevated pSmad3C expression. CONCLUSION These results suggest that pSmad3C/pSmad3L maybe interact with miR-145/miR-21 in HCC progression,which may be one of important molecular mechanisms of CASE's anti-HCC effects.

The early diagnosis, surgical treatment, and comprehensive treatment of primary liver cancer (PLC) have advanced greatly in recent years. Both the survival and quality of life of patients with PLC have remarkably improved. Further advances in basic research may provide new direction of the management of PLC.
Adult ; Aged ; Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged

To study the immunopathological characteristics and differential diagnosis of hepatic angiomyolipoma(AML).Methods:Thirty-six surgically resected hepatic AML were investigated clinicopathologically and immunohistochemically with 10 antibodies.Results:Hepatic AML occurred in 21 females and 15 males,with the mean age of 41.6 years(26-60 years old).The patients with AML often had no special symptoms even had large space-occupying lesions in the liver.The diameter of AML was 2.5 cm to 14 cm(mean 6.8 cm).Histologically,AML was composed of varying heterogeneous mixture of 3 tissue components:blood vessels,smooth muscle and adipose cells.Extramedullary hemopoiesis sometimes existed.According to tissue components,AML was subcategorized into mixed type(19.4%,n=7),lipomatous type(11.1%,n=4),myomatous type(66.7%,n=24),and angiomatous type(2.8%,n=1).The epithelioid smooth muscle cells were sensitive to HMB-45(100%),SMA(100%),and CD117(66.7%) staining.Conclusion:Hepatic AML often contains smooth muscle elements,which have varied morphological features and should be carefully differentiated from hepatocellular carcinoma,mesenchymal hamartoma，and tumors with rich fat or blood vessels.Immunohistochemical staining with HMB-45 and SMA are the best available markers for the diagnosis of hepatic AML.

Objective:To investigate the factors affecting the intrahepatic infection after percutaneous radiofrequency ablation(PRFA)for liver cancers.Methods:The clinical data of 1567 patients with intrahepatic infection after PRFA for liver cancers(from Dec.1999 to Oct.2007)were retrospectively summarized.Logistic regression method was used to analyze the possible affecting factors.Results:Twenty-eight person-times of intrahepatic infection occurred in 1635 patients who received a total of 2035 times of PRFA.with the infecting rate being 1.38%.The intrahepatic infection-related mortality was 0.13% (2/1567).Univariate analysis indicated that the intrahepatic infection was significantly correlated with metastatic liver cancer, pattern of past abdominal operation,tumor location,tumor size and tumor numbers(P

Objective:To investigate the expression of chemokine receptor CXCR4 in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues,hepatocellular carcinoma cell line-MHCC97,human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs)and the ascites level of CXCL12,ligand of CXCR4,so as to lay a foundation for studying the role of CXCR4 in the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods:The expression of CXCR4 mRNA and protein was examined by RT-PCR and Western blotting in 21 specimens of hepatocellular carcinoma tissues,MHCC97 cells,HUVECs,and 17 specimens of normal hepatic tissues.Meanwhile,the levels of CXCL12 in ascitic fluids were assayed by ELISA in 18 hepatic cancer patients.Results:The relative expression values of CXCR4 mRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues,MHCC97 cells,and HVECs were 2.21?1.09,2.14?1.15 and 1.72?1.20,respectively;and those of CXCR4 protein were 1.51?0.12,1.76?0.25,and 1.89?0.24,respectively;and those of CXCR4 protein were 1.51?0.12,1.76?0.25,and 1.89?0.24,respectively.CXCR4 mRNA and protein were not detected in normal hepatic tissues.ELISA results showed that the 18 hepatocellular carcinoma samples had a CXCL12 concentration range of 783-8 364 pg/ml(median value 6 871 pg/ml)in ascitic fluids.Conclusion:CXCR4 is highly expressed in the hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and cells,which is not associated with the clinical staging of the cancer.The elevated CXCL12 level in the ascitic fluid of cancer patients indicate that CXCR4 may play an important role in the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma.