[Study on the expression of oncogene mRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma using in situ hybridization technique]

Expression of oncogene mRNA was investigated in 37 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surgically resected using in situ hybridization (ISH) technique. C-myc, c-Ha-ras and N-ras DNA probes labeled with biotin were used. The hybrids were detected by streptavidin-biotin alkaline phosphatase staining. Thirteen cases of liver cirrhosis and 16 cases of non-cirrhotic liver were also examined as controls. In HCC cases, c-myc mRNA was expressed in 15 of 37 cases. The c-myc positive cells were found unevenly both in cancerous regions and in non-cancerous regions, being mainly distributed near the cancer capsule. The hybrids were detected mostly in cytoplasm of cancer cells. In some cases, they were seen not only in the parenchymal cells but also in the non-parenchymal cells, such as histiocytes, Kupffer cells and fibroblastic cells. In control cases, c-myc mRNA was expressed in five of 13 cases of liver cirrhosis and in three of 16 cases of non-cirrhotic liver. The expression of c-Ha-ras mRNA could be detected in only three of 37 cases of HCC. These three cases were early staged HCC. The expression of N-ras mRNA was detected in five of 32 cases examined of HCC. These five cases were differentiated type HCC. These results suggest that c-myc gene might play an important role in evolution and progression of HCC, and that ras genes might play a role in hepatocarcinogenesis at early stage.