In Egypt, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second most common malignancy in males and fifth in females. Various proteins or oncogenes and suppressor gene are involved in the process of apoptosis, including Bcl-2, p53, and the Fas/FasL tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) system. This work aimed to investigate the expression of Bcl-2, p53, and TNF-α in patient with HCC compare their levels of expression with those of the patients with liver cirrhosis (LC), and normal group. This work was carried in 38 patients with LC, 42 patients with HCC and 20 healthy individuals whose were served as the control group. The levels of Bcl2 and p53 were estimated in the blood by monoclonal antibody high affinity conjugated by using flow cytometry. In addition, the level of TNF-α was determined by using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In comparison with controls, Bcl2, p53 and TNF-α level were significantly higher in LC and HCC. The results indicated that p53 played important roles in HCC. Apoptosis-related genes like p53 and Bcl-2 are related to HCC occurrence, and their expression renders an increasing tendency during the formation of HCC. In HCC, p53 which is not linked to cell apoptosis and its high expression may relate to the proliferation of liver cells. Therefore, p53 status and the expression of Bcl-2 by tumor cells might be good indicators of sensitivity to chemotherapy for patients with HCC.
Key words: Bcl2, P53, Flow Cytometric Markers, TNF-Α Genes, Hepatocellular Carcinoma
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