[Expression of p21 in hepatocellular carcinoma and liver cirrhosis and its relation with HBV infection].

Determination of p21, a product of Ha-ras oncogene, and HBsAg in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver cirrhosis etc. was carried out with ABC method. The results showed that HCC tissues exhibited enhancement of p21 expression with a positive rate of 72.4%, which was obviously higher than the expression of p21 in tissues from liver cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis and hepatoblastoma. The p21 positive rate of regenerative cirrhosis nodules close to the HCC was 87.2%. The p21 expression level in HBsAg positive regenerative nodules of cirrhosis close to the HCC was significantly high, and its positive rate reached 93.9%. The expression level of p21 protein in well-differentiated HCC was higher than that of poorly differentiated and undifferentiated HCC. Therefore, the result suggests that the expression level of p21 in liver cirrhosis is related to persistent infection of HBV. The elevated expression of p21 plays an important role in the development of regenerative nodules in liver cirrhosis towards HCC, and it is also an important factor in the early stage of HCC development.