Biochemical and molecular detection of genetic instability of liver cancer

Liver cancer has become the third most common cause of mortality worldwide. Random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis (RAPD) is used in cancer research. This analysis was used in the present study in an aim to examine the genetic instability of liver cancer. For this purpose, a total of 20 patients with liver cancer between the ages of 45 and 80 years of both sexes were randomly selected in the present study. Blood samples were collected for hematological and biochemical analyses.  Radiological, etiological and histopathological data were analyzed and liver tissue biopsies from the tumor and safe area were obtained for RAPD‑PCR testing. The results revealed that 50% of the patients had fatty liver cirrhosis, 40% had hepatitis C virus infection and 10% had hepatitis B virus infection. Of note, 85% of the patients had hepatocellular carcinoma, 15% had mixed‑type carcinoma, 10% had fibrolamellar carcinoma and 5% had hepatic adenoma. In addition, 80% of the patients had grade II disease, 15% had grade III disease and 5% had grade I disease, while 40% of patients had stage I disease, 30% of patients had stage III disease, 20% of patients had stage II disease and 10% of patients had stage IV disease. The analysis of radiological data revealed that 50% of the patients had fatty liver cirrhosis, 85% had large tumors and 15% had smaller tumors. Of note, 10% of the studied patients had lymph node metastasis, and 90% of them did not have metastasis. All the values for the hematological parameters were decreased; however, the white blood cell count and the international normalized ratio (INR) were significantly increased. The serum levels of bilirubin, creatinine, potassium, alpha‑fetoprotein, alanine transaminase and aspartate aminotransferase were significantly increased, whereas those of albumin and sodium were significantly decreased. The RAPD‑PCR analysis of both normal and tumor tissue biopsies revealed the marked appearance of a tumor marker band1, 150 bp in 26% of the normal tissue samples, and in 57% of the tumor samples when primer A‑01 was used. Furthermore, tumor marker band 1,850 bp appeared in 24% of the normal tissues and in 82% of the tumor tissues when A‑03 primer was used. On the whole, the present study demonstrates the instability of liver cancer based on biochemical and molecular detection aspects.