Background. The RAS gene family is among the most studied and best characterized of theknown cancer-related genes. Of the three human ras isoforms, KRAS is the most frequently altered gene, with mutations occurring in 17%–25% of all cancers.
Aim of the study. The purpose of the study was identification of point mutation in codon 12 of K-RAS in Egyptian hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.
Patients and methods. Blood and urine samples were taken from 100 volunteers: 25 HCC patients, 25 HCC patients with HBV, HCV or schist soma infection and 50 healthy volunteers as control subject.
Mutant allele specific amplification (MASA), which is a highly sensitive method for detecting KRM, was performed, with the DNAS extracted from these samples.
Results. K-Ras mutation detected in 13 (13%) HCC patients from total 100. There was 4 patients with positive KRM among 22 HCC patients with HBV, 5 patients with positive KRM among 22 HCC patients with HCV infection and 3 HCC patients with schist soma have KRM.
Conclusion. The KRM incidence was found to be relatively high for HCC patients especially who combine HBV infection. This result suggests that the detection of KRM by MASA is useful for screening of HCC.