Diagnostic value of AFP, h-TERT and VEGF mRNAs in peripheral blood of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM: To evaluate the diagnostic significance of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), human telomerase reverse transcriptase (h-TERT) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNAs in peripheral blood of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS: Fluorescence quantitative PCR (FQ-PCR) was used to detect the levels of AFP, h-TERT and VEGF mRNAs in peripheral blood samples from 40 patient with HCC, 20 patients with liver disease and 10 normal controls.

RESULTS: The positive rates of all three parameters were significantly higher in HCC patients than in controls (all P < 0.01). The positive expression of AFP and VEGF was not correlated with serum AFP levels in HCC patients (P > 0.05), whereas h-TERT mRNA had a correlation with serum AFP levels (P = 0.01). The positive rates of all three parameters were highly correlated with TNM stage in HCC patients (all P < 0.01). The specificity of AFP mRNA in the diagnosis of HCC was higher, and combined detection of AFP and h-TERT mRNAs had a higher accuracy.

CONCLUSION: AFP, h-TERT and VEGF mRNAs in peripheral blood can be used as auxiliary parameters for the diagnosis of HCC, and combined detection of AFP and h-TERT mRNAs in peripheral blood can increase the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing HCC.

Relationship between hepatitis B virus serum markers and hepatitis B virus DNA quantities in Korean and Han patients with chronic hepatitis B in Yanbian area

AIM: To investigate the relationship between the HBV markers (HBV M) and contents of HBV DNA in Korean and Han patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in Yanbian area.

METHODS: The contents of HBV DNA and the levels of HBV M were detected in 1773 patients (Korean, n = 1074; Han, n = 699) with CHB by fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR) and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. The data were comparatively analyzed between the two ethnic groups.

RESULTS: For HBV M, Korean and Han patients covered percentages of 40.69% and 47.07% (P < 0.01), respectively, in group A (HBsAg+, HBeAg+, HBcAb+), 47.07% and 38.34% (P < 0.05), respectively, in group B (HBsAg+, HBeAb+, HBcAb+), and 7.18% and 4.58% (P < 0.05), respectively, in group C (HBsAg+, HBcAb+). The positive rates of HBV DNA had no significant difference between Korean and Han patients (A: 93.82%, 93.92%; B: 47.54%, 47.39%). The higher content of HBV DNA (≥ 10¹⁴-10¹⁶ copies/L) was prominent in group A (70.73%, 72.17%), and the lower content (≥ 10⁶-10¹⁰ copies/L) was dominant in group B (51.64%, 51.18%)in both Horean and Han patients.

CONCLUSION: HBV M levels are significantly different between Korean and Han patients with CHB in Yanbian area. The positive rate of HBV DNA is similar, but the content of HBV DNA is correlated with HBV M levels in two ethnic groups.

Detection of CK20 in peripheral blood of rectal cancer patients with fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction and its significance

AIM: To analyze the relations of CK20 expression in the peripheral blood with the Dukes stages and histological types, and to discuss the value of fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR) for predicting the metastases and prognosis of rectal cancer.

METHODS: The peripheral blood samples were collected from 47 patients with rectal cancer, 10 patients with benign intestinal diseases, and 10 healthy volunteers. Then FQ-PCR was performed to detect the expression of CK20 mRNA in the peripheral blood.

RESULTS: There was no positive expression of CK20 mRNA in the patients with benign intestinal diseases and the healthy volunteers, which was significantly different from that in the patients with rectal cancer (72.34%, 34/47) (χ² = 37.434, P < 0.01). The level of CK20 expression in the peripheral blood of the 47 patients with rectal cancer was positively correlated with the Dukes stages of rectal cancer (r = 0.680, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION: The level of CK20 expression is positively related with tumor stages in the peripheral blood of the rectal cancer patients. CK20 detection by FQ-PCR is more sensitive than routine histological methods in predicting the metastases and prognosis of rectal cancer.