Enhanced glypican-3 expression differentiates the majority of hepatocellular carcinomas from benign hepatic disorders

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Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIMS Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant tumour worldwide, and its differential diagnosis from benign lesions of the liver is often difficult yet of great clinical importance. In the present study, we analysed whether glypican-3 is useful in differentiating between benign and malignant liver diseases and whether it influences the growth behaviour of HCC. METHODS Northern blot analysis and in situ hybridisation. RESULTS Northern blot analysis indicated that expression of glypican-3 mRNA was either low or absent in normal liver, in focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH), and in liver cirrhosis. In contrast, expression of glypican-3 mRNA was markedly increased in 20 of 30 and moderately increased in five of 30 HCC samples. The average increase in glypican-3 mRNA expression in HCC was significant compared with expression in normal liver (21.7-fold increase, pCONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that glypican-3, in many cases, has the potential to differentiate between benign and malignant liver diseases.