Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary hepatic malignancy of adults. It is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and the second most common cause of cancer death. More than 60% of patients are diagnosed with latestage disease after metastasis has occurred, resulting in an overall 5-year survival rate of < 16%.
Aim of the work: To characterize new diagnostic marker for HCC that can help in early diagnosis. Patients and methods: 103 subjects were included in this study stratified into 3 groups, healthy controls, patients with HCC and patients with HCV. Serum and tissue samples were obtained. Bioinformatics analysis to retrieve mRNA relevant to HCC, real time
PCR for determining the relative expression of RAFTLIN mRNA in sera and tissue samples. Results: There was statistically significant difference in the expression of RAFTLIN mRNA among patients with HCC compared with the other two groups.
Conclusion: The results demonstrated the promising role of RAFTLIN mRNA as a novel marker for early detection of HCC.