Expression of decorin in primary hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM: To study the expression of decorin (DCN) in primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC) tissues. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry (SP) was used to detect DCN expression in 16 samples of normal hepatic tissues, 20 samples of liver cirrhosis tissues and 30 samples of PHC tissues and relative paracancerous tissues. The quantitative analysis was performed with positive expression rate and A value in this study. RESULTS: Liver cirrhosis tissues and paracancerous tissues showed strong positive expression of DCN. Their positive expression rates and the average A values had signifi cant difference compared with normal hepatic tissues and PHC tissues (55%, 73.3% vs 0%, 10%; 0.2357±0.0396, 0.2983±0.1990 vs 0.1394±0.0072, 0.1589±0.0115, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that DCN may pose negative effects on the development of cirrhosis and carcinoma in hepatic tissues.