ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate relationship between CD133 expression and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by detecting expressions of CD133. Methods 65 cases with HCC were enrolled and their HCC tissues and peripheral blood samples were taken. Expression of CD133 in HCC tissue was detected with immunohistochemical method and the percentages of CD45- CD133+ cells in peripheral blood were assayed by the method of flow cytometry (FCM), and 10 healthy persons were chosen as controls. Results In HCC patients, the positive expression rate of CD133 in HCC tissues was 6.4 % and the percentage of CD45- CD133+ cells in peripheral blood was 2.0 %. The expression rate of CD133 was not found in normal liver tissues and peripheral blood (P <0.01). The amount of CD133+ cells was significantly related to portal vein tumor embolus (P<0.01), tumor amicula integrality (P<0.01), pathology grade (P<0.01) and TNM stage (P <0.01), but not related to tumor diameter(P0.05) and AFP value (P0.05). It showed a positive correlation between HCC tissues and peripheral blood (r=0.36, P <0.01). Conclusion The percentage of CD133+ cell in HCC tissues and peripheral blood from HCC patient is greatly correlated to the progression of HCC. It is useful to exam the CD133 expression in predicting the diagnosis and prognosis evaluation.