A Clinic Study On The Changes In Serum Concentrations Of Hepatocyte Growth Factor After TACE For Hepatocellular Carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the changes in serum concentrations of hepatocyte growth factor after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma and its clinical significance.METHODS: Thirty seven patients with HCC undergoing TACE were studied. Serum HGF levels were determined using ELISA kit before and after TACE respectively. The correlations of clinical pathologic parameters with the serum HGF concentration were analyzed respectively. Serum HGF concentrations of 15 healthy blood donors and 15 patients with chronic viral hepatitis B and 15 patients with liver cirrhosis were studied as control respectively.RESULTS: The mean HGF level in the HCC group was significantly higher than in the normal controls and the CH group and the LC group [(0.69±0.17)ng/ml vs (0.24±0.05)ng/ml and (0.34±0.06)ng/ml and (0.38±0.10)ng/ml, P<0.01]. There was a peak of serum HGF concentrations on the third day after TACE [(1.10±0.39)ng/ml], and declined on the seventh day [(0.76±0.20)ng/ml], and then returned to normal level on the twenty-eighth day [(0.71±0.18)ng/ml]. Serum HGF concentrations were positively correlated with tumor stage, tumor size, portal vein tumor thrombus. The patients with metastases after TACE had a higher level of serum HGF than others. The patients who were treated with larger volumes had a higher level of serum HGF than those who were treated with smaller volumes on the third day after TACE [(0.55±0.26)ng/ml vs (0.30±0.22)ng/ml, P<0.01]. Seven patients died during 1-year follow-up whose serum HGF were higher than 0.8ng/ml, while no patients died whose serum HGF were lower than 0.8ng/ml. CONCLUSION: Serum HGF level is a useful tumor marker and an indicator of prognosis for patient with HCC, the sustained high level of HGF may be a factor related to early tumor metastases after TACE.