Neoplasma Vol.61, No.6, p.718-723, 2014

ew tools for diagnostic of HCC remain to further investigate. We have evaluated the expression of SCCA1, 2 mRNA and their prognostic value in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and direct sequencing were performed to evaluate the mRNA expression of SCCA1 and SCCA2 in 93 HCCs, and 93 paired adjacent non-cancerous tissues (PNT), 16 cirrhosis livers and 9 normal livers. The correlation of SCCA variants expression with the clinical parameters and the factors affecting survival were analyzed statistically.
Total SCCA was detected in 33.3% of HCCs (31/93), in 9.68% of PNT (9/93) and 22.2% of normal livers (2/9). No expression was found in cirrhosis livers (0/16).

The frequencies of total SCCA expression were significantly higher in HCCs than that in PNT and liver cirrhosis (p = 0.000, 0.006).

From mRNA sequencing of HCCs, a new SCCA1 variant (presenting a T357A mutation) was identified in 16 specimens, while wild type SCCA1 was identified in 11 specimens and SCCA2 in 27 specimens.

Clinicopathological analysis showed that the frequency of SCCA1 was significantly higher in poorly differentiated HCC, compared with moderately and well differentiated tumors (p = 0.021).

T357A variant has a significantly higher frequency in nonencapsulated tumors than wild type SCCA1 (p = 0.034).

The SCCA1, 2 mRNA is effective for detecting HCC and could be potentially applied in HCC diagnosis.