Expressions of PTEN, Cyclin D1 and C-myc genes in hepatocellular carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expressions of PTEN, Cyclin D1 and C-myc proteins and their clinicopathologic signifigance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: Immunohistochemical technique (EnVisionTM plus) was applied to detect the expressions of PTEN, Cyclin D1 and C-myc proteins in cancerous and adjacent non-cancerous tissues in 52 patients with HCC. RESULTS: The positivity rates of expressions of PTEN, Cyclin D1 and C-myc were 42.31%, 48.08% and 53.84% in HCC tissues, and 92.31%, 25.00% and 32.69% in adjacent non-cancerous tissues, respectively. The positivity rates of Cyclin D1 and C-myc were significantly higher (χ 2 = 5.971, P = 0.015; χ 2 = 4.740, P = 0.029), while PTEN was significantly lower (χ 2 = 29.539, P = 0.000), in HCC tissues than in adjacent non-cancerous tissues. The expression of PTEN was negatively correlated with those of Cyclin D1 and C-myc in HCC tissues ( r = -0.363 1, P = 0.019 7; r = -0.369 7, P = 0.017 2). The positive expressions of PTEN, Cyclin D1 and C-myc in the HCC tissues were significantly correlated with the presence of extrahepatic metastasis, tumor recurrence and tumor differentiation (P < 0.05). In addition, the positive expressions of PTEN and Cyclin D1 were significantly correlated with the occurrence of the portal vein tumor thrombus (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The loss of expression of PTEN and the overexpressions of Cyclin D1 and C-myc may contribute to the proliferation of HCC and relate to the initiation and progression of HCC.