[Immunohistochemical study on HBsAg, HBcAg and AFP in 104 patients with small liver cancer]

Abstract

HBsAg, HBcAg and AFP in small liver cancer (less than or equal to 5 cm) and adjacent non-neoplastic liver tissue were assayed by peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) method. The positive rates of HBsAg, HBcAg and AFP in liver cancer tissue were 13.8% (9/65), 9.2% (6/65) and 75.0% (42/56), while those in the uninvolved liver tissue were 93.3% (97/104), 46.2% (48/104), 66.1% (37/56), respectively. 3.6% (2/56) of cancer tissue and 33.9% (19/56) of unaffected liver tissue were found to have these three markers simultaneously. Pathologically all showed chronic hepatitis changes, and 66.3% (69/104) of them had cirrhosis. The development of liver cancer may be associated with HBV/DNA integration, but it does not rule out the possibility of HBV replication in the canceration. The phenotype patterns of HBAg possess variable clinical significance and HBV replication affects the long time survival of the patients with liver cancer. The results show that both cancer foci and their surrounding tissue could secrete AFP, and the AFP positive rate in liver cancer with negative sero-AFP is 30% (3/10). The sensitivity of assaying HBsAg in PAP method was 1.4 times as high as that of R-PHA or orcein stain. Small liver cancer is a valuable material to the study of human liver cancer.