Identification Of Differentially Expressed Genes In The Development And Progression Of Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma By CDNA And Tissue Microarray Techniques

Background and objective: Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC), an aggressive malignancy with poor prognosis and one of the most common tumors in human beings, has become a leading cause of cancer-related death in adults from Asia and sub-Saharan-Africa. Although advances have been achieved in the diagnosis and treatment of HCC, the prognosis of patients with HCC remains dismal. The 5-year survival rate is less than 25% in the subgroups of patients who have the most favorable characteristics and are eligible for surgical resection. The poor prognosis of HCC has been associated with recurrence and metastasis. Therefore, a better understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in HCC development and metastasis should be investigated urgently.HCC is associated with multiple risk factors and is believed to arise from preneoplastic lesions, usually in the background of cirrhosis. Extensive studies on HCC and its precursors have demonstrated complex and heterogeneous genetic or chromosomal abnormalities along the way from preneoplastic lesions to HCCs. These genetic abnormalities include loss of heterozygosity, microsatellite instability, gene alterations, and aberrant global gene expression profiles. Although some genetic alterations involving the p53 family, Rb family, and Wnt pathways are particularly important in the development of HCCs, the molecular pathogenesis of HCC differs with etiology in some extent. Recent studies using DNA microarray technique have identified some unique gene expression profiles in hepatitis B virus (HBV)- and hepatitis C virus (HCV)- associated HCCs. Gene expression profiling also allows people to distinguish HCCs from normal tissue or preneoplastic lesions and to evaluate metastatic or recurrent potentials. These unique genes or gene products associated with malignant transformation and recurrent or metastatic potentials may serve as molecular markers for early diagnosis, prediction of prognosis, and responsiveness to therapy. To date, information that has accumulated for the past several decades is still incomplete, and we still are faced with a great challenge in deciphering the molecular mechanisms of HCCs.The development of microarray technologies, which allow us to undertake parallel analyses of many genes, has led to a new era in medical science. New genomic high-throughput technologies, such as DNA microarrays, may facilitate considerably the molecular profiling of...