The Detection Of AFP-mRNA And ALB-mRNA In Peripheral Blood And Its Clinical Significance

Objective To search the marker of micrometastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in order to find the recurrence and metastasis of HCC as soon as possible. Methods Peripheral blood samples were obtained from 56 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, 14 non-HCC malignant tumors, 22 chronic hepatitis B or cirrhosis, and 21 normal healthy volunteers. To identify hepatocellular carcinoma cells in peripheral blood, liver-specific alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) niRNA and albumin (ALB) mRNA were amplified from total RNA extracted from whole blood by nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (Nested-RT-PCR). Results AEP-mRNA was not detected in the normal healthy volunteers and the patient with non-HCC malignant tumors. The presence of AFP-mRNA in blood of patients with HCC (37/56, 66.1%) was higher than those with chronic hepatitis B or cirrhosis (2/22, 9.1%, P