金属硫蛋白在肝细胞癌中表达的临床意义

目的 探讨金属硫蛋白（metallothionein,MT)在肝细胞癌（hepatocellular carcinoma,HCC)组织中、癌旁组织和正常肝组织中的表达及其临床意义。方法 对30例HCC病人的癌组织、10例癌旁组织和10例正常肝组织标本进行免疫组化染色，观察MT的表达状况，分析MT在HCC中的表达与癌旁组织、正常肝组织、细胞分化和预后等的关系。结果 正常肝组织有很强而稳定的MT染色；癌旁组织（包括肝硬化结节）有较高的MT着色；癌组织中MT染色很弱，甚至无MT染色。相互比较有显著性差异（P＜0．05）。MT在肝细胞癌组织中的表达与生存率之间存在着正相关关系（P＜0．05）。结论 MT在正常肝组织、癌旁组织和肝细胞癌组织中的表达呈递减趋势，肝细胞癌组织中MT表达与癌细胞分化无关，而与瘤体组织坏死及肝切除术后病人生存状况相关。

Expression of metallothionein in hepatocellular carcinoma and its clinical significance

Objective To investigate the expression of metallothionein (MT) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), jaxta-cacerous tissue and normal liver tissue and explore its clinical significance. Methods Using immunochemical technique, we detected the expression of MT in these tissues, analyze the correlation among them and that with the survival rate of the patients after hepatectomy. Results The strong MT staining was found to exist in normal liver tissue and stronger one in jaxta-cancerous tissue (including cirrhotic nodes) but slight or even no MT staining in HCC. The expression of MT in HCC was significantly correlated to survival rate of the patients (P<0.05). Conclusions The expression of MT is decreased in order from HCC, jaxta-cancerous tissue to normal liver tissue. The expression in HCC is closely related to tissue necrosis of HCC and the survival rate of HCC patients rather than Edmondson's classification.