The influence of tumor cells spreading in blood to relapse and distant metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma after surgery / 中华外科杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the relationship between peripheral blood hepatocellular carcinoma cells-associated AFP mRNA and tumor relapse and metastasis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>To detect several blood samples from the HCC patients by nested RT-PCR to find out AFP mRNA after 24 h, 72 h and one week and 4 weeks after surgery, and followed up the HCC patients for 1, 2, 3 years.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were 7 patients occurred relapse or distant metastasis in 12 patients with AFP mRNA positive (7/12, 58.3%), there were 5 patients occurred relapse in 19 patients with AFP mRNA negative (5/19, 26.3%) within 1 year, there was 4 patients occurred relapse in second year (9/19, 47.3%); 5 patients occurred relapse in third year (10/19, 52.6%). Obvious connection between patients AFP mRNA positive and AFP mRNA negative was observed (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>HCC with AFP mRNA positive has more change to be recurrent compared with HCC patients with AFP mRNA negative.</p>