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Evaluation of loss of heterozygosity before and after interferon therapy in patients with hepatitis C virus infection who developed hepatocellular carcinoma during follow up
Author(s) -
SUZUKI SEIJI,
KONDO YUTAKA,
HIRASHIMA NOBORU,
KATO HIDEAKI,
SUGAUCHI FUMINAKA,
TANAKA YASUHITO,
ORITO ETSURO,
YANG YING,
SHEN YU,
SAKAKIBARA KENJI,
UEDA RYUZO,
MIZOKAMI MASASHI
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1440-1746
pISSN - 0815-9319
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1746.2003.03222.x
Subject(s) - hepatocellular carcinoma , medicine , cirrhosis , loss of heterozygosity , gastroenterology , hepatitis c virus , interferon , carcinoma , oncology , virus , immunology , biology , allele , biochemistry , gene
Background and Aim: The aim of the present study was to determine whether evaluating the status of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) before interferon (IFN) therapy is predictive for development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis patients. Methods: Eighteen patients with hepatitis C virus were studied, nine of whom developed HCC (HCC group) after IFN therapy and nine whom did not (non‐HCC group). Samples before IFN therapy from both groups (pre‐IFN‐N and pre‐IFN‐H samples from the non‐HCC and HCC groups, respectively) were analyzed for LOH using 12 microsatellite markers. To evaluate the LOH incidence in different steps in HCC patients, paired samples of cancerous tissue (CT) and adjacent non‐CT (ANCT) obtained from the HCC group were also analyzed. Results: Frequency of LOH in the pre‐IFN‐H samples was significantly higher than that in the pre‐IFN‐N samples regardless of the response to IFN therapy. Interestingly, in the HCC group, there is no significant difference in the frequency of LOH among the pre‐IFN‐H, ANCT and CT samples. Conclusions: The present results suggest the theory that genetic instability, such as LOH, had already accumulated at stages before the development of HCC. The authors propose that the status of LOH in chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis patients before IFN therapy could be a potential predictor for the development of HCC.