A. Miyamoto et al., Clinical application of quantitative analysis for detection of hematogenous spread of hepatocellular carcinoma by real-time PCR, INT J ONCOL, 18(3), 2001, pp. 527-532
In order to detect a hematogenous spread of tumor cells in patients with he
patocellular carcinoma, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction ass
ay has been used. In this study, we quantified a-fetoprotein (AFP) messenge
r RNA by real-time PCR approach using LightCycler(TM) technique. AFP messen
ger RNA in the blood from 23 hepatocellular carcinoma patients undergoing h
epatic resection, 31 healthy volunteers, 10 patients with liver cirrhosis a
nd 5 patients underwent hepatectomy except for hepatocellular carcinoma was
quantitated. In the real-time PCR, fluorescence was undetectable in any of
the controls. On the contrary, fluorescent signals were detected in 10 out
of 39 blood specimens collected from 23 HCC patients. AFP-positive status
was significantly associated with the existence of multiple intrahepatic no
dules. Out of 8 cases with AFP-positive status, intra- and/or extra-hepatic
recurrence has been observed in 3 cases. The quantities of AFP messenger R
NA in these 3 cases were relatively high among 8 cases with AFP-positive st
atus. AFP messenger RNA was detectable by newly developed real-time PCR app
roach with LightCycler and it is suggested that this approach could be appl
icable in detection of small amounts of tumor cells in the blood of HCC pat
ients.