ABSTRACT
Objective: Invasion and metastasis are the main causes of carcinoma mortality; hence, the timely blocking of the invasion and metastasis of carcinoma has become a research hotspot. The present study aims to investigate the expression levels of Tiam-1 mRNA and HPA-1 mRNA and their correlation with the invasion and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: From May 2009 to Jan 2012, 65 hepatocellular carcinoma patients admitted consecutively in our hospital for surgical treatment were included in this study. Real-time fluorescent quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to investigate the expression levels of Tiam-1 mRNA and HPA-1 mRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma, paired adjacent hepatocellular carcinoma (2 cm from the carcinoma), and surgical marginal normal hepato mucosa tissues (5 cm from the carcinoma). RT-PCR was also used to analyze their correlation with the clinicopathological characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma. Results: The expression level of HPA-1 mRNA was significantly higher in hepatocellular carcinoma (43.83±11.62) than in paired adjacent hepatocellular carcinoma (14.82±8.16) and normal hepato mucosa tissues (6.02±5.36) (P<0.001). The expression level of HPA-1 mRNA was higher in paired adjacent hepatocellular carcinoma than in normal hepato mucosa tissues (P<0.05). The expression of Tiam-1 mRNA was higher in hepatocellular carcinoma (35.28±11.81) than in paired adjacent hepatocellular carcinoma (12.94±6.25) and normal hepato mucosa tissues (4.17±3.49) (P<0.05). The expression level of Tiam-1 mRNA was higher in paired adjacent hepatocellular carcinoma than in normal hepato mucosa tissues (P<0.05). The expression levels of Tiam-1 mRNA and HPA-1 mRNA were closely associated with the degree of differentiation, depth of infiltration, lymph node metastasis, vessel metastasis, and TNM (Tumor, Node, Metastasis)staging of gastric carcinoma (P<0.05). Spearman rank correlation analysis demonstrated a significant correlation between Tiam-1 and HPA-1 (OR=0.523, P<0.05). Conclusion: The expression levels of Tiam-1 mRNA and HPA-1 mRNA were high in hepatocellular carcinoma. Meanwhile, the increased ex-pression levels of Tiam-1 and HPA-1 can promote the invasion and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma. Moreover, the determination of Tiam-1 and HPA-1 may be valuable for the treatment and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.