Abstract:
Objective: To investigate the expression of MAGE- 1, MAGE- 3 and AFP mRNA in tumor tissue from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to develop a multiple marker reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT- PCR) assay for detection of micrometastasis in circulation.Methods: Tumor tissue specimens were obtained from 86 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and fluorescent quantitative RT- PCR was used to detect the MAGE- 1, MAGE- 3, and AFP mRNA in the specimens. Results: In 86 tumor specimens, the positivity for the MAGE- 1, MAGE- 3, and AFP genes was 34.9% (30/86), 60.5% (52/86) and 69.8% (60/86), respectively, and all specimens expressed at least one marker. Conclusion: Our results indicate that a multimarker RT- PCR assay with cancer-specific markers including MAGE- 1 and MAGE- 3 in combination with a liver- specific AFP marker may be a promising diagnostic tool for monitoring hepatocellular carcinoma patients with better sensitivity and specificity.