Galectin-3 and matrix metalloproteinase-9: Perspective in management of hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer in men and the seventh in women. HCC varies widely in incidence through the world, with rising incidence in Egypt. This study aimed to estimate the serum levels of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and its substrate galectin-3 in order to evaluate their diagnostic accuracy and their relation to HCC-related clinical features. METHODS: For this purpose, serum levels of these biochemical markers were assessed in 50 HCC patients, 30 cirrhotic patients in addition to 10 healthy subjects as a control group using enzyme linked immune-sorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: In the present study, circulating level of galectin-3, MMP-9 increased significantly in HCC as compared to the control group (P = 0.044 and 0.04, respectively). However, no significant difference was observed between cirrhotic and HCC patients (P = 0.231 and 0.193, respectively). Our study found that HCC patients with metastatic spread had a significant elevation of both serum galectin-3 and MMP-9 levels (P = 0.028 and <0.0001, respectively). In addition, galectin-3 level significantly increased in HCC patients with poor prognosis suffering from portal vein invasion (P = 0.014). Moreover, MMP-9 increased significantly with increasing stage of Barcelona-Clinic Liver Cancer Group diagnostic and treatment strategy (P = 0.01). CONCLUSION: MMP-9 and galectin-3 could be used as a guide for prognosis of HCC since they may play a role in HCC progression and metastasis. However, they are not useful markers for HCC diagnosis.

Nitric Oxide is a Potential Diagnostic Marker for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer in men and the seventh most common in women. This cancer varies widely in incidence throughout the world, with rising incidence in Egypt. HCC is considered the second most frequent cause of cancer incidence and mortality among men in Egypt. This study aimed to estimate the serum levels of nitric oxide (NO) and glutathione reductase in order to evaluate their role as oxidative status markers in HCC development and progression. For this purpose, serum levels of these parameters were assessed in 50 HCC patients, and 30 cirrhotic patients in addition to 15 healthy subjects as a control group. In the present study, glutathione reductase activity showed a significant increase in HCC as compared to the control group (P= 0.019). On the other hand, no significant difference was observed between the cirrhotic and HCC patients (P= 0.492). Serum NO was significantly higher in patients with HCC than in cirrhotic patients (P= 0.001) or the control group (P= 0.001), with a sensitivity of (74%) and specificity of (88.89%) at a cut-off level of 614.1 µmol/l. While AFP, alpha-fetoprotein, at a cutoff level of 200 ng/ml had a sensitivity of (52%), the specificity was (100%). Indeed, nitric oxide was high in 62.5% of AFP-negative HCC patients. In conclusion, glutathione reductase has no role in HCC diagnosis. However, nitric oxide is a potential diagnostic marker for HCC. The simultaneous determination of serum nitric oxide and AFP gave significant improvement in the detection of HCC patients compared to that of AFP alone.