Molecular evaluation of Glypican 3 gene expression in Egyptian patients with Hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most deadly cancers worldwide and it represents a major world health problem. The burden of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been increasing in Egypt with a doubling in the incidence rate in the past 10 years. . The genetic alterations that take place in the transformation of normal cells to neoplastic cells give an insight into the molecular mechanism of the disease. Glypican 3 (GPC3) is protein that plays a role in the control of cell division and growth regulation. It acts as a tumor suppressor gene in some tissues, while acting as an oncofetal protein in other tissues. The aim of this work was to study gene expression of GPC 3 in HCC patients in Egypt. This was an internally controlled case series where HCC tumor tissue and non-tumor tissue from the same patient were analyzed for the expression of GPC 3. This study showed that statistically no significant positive correlation between AFP and GPC3 was observed. So, GPC 3 may serve as a potential marker for the diagnosis and prognosis HCC. Keywords : HCC, Glypican 3