[Comparative study of the expression of IGF-2 and HBxAg in human hepatocellular carcinoma and liver cirrhosis].

60 Cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and 47 cases of liver cirrhosis (LC) were examined with immunocytochemistry methods using antibodies against IGF-2 and HBxAg on paraffin embedded sections. 32 HCC and 37 LC were found to be positive to HBxAg, in which the positive rates of IGF-2 were 100% (32/32) and 94.6% (35/37) respectively. 28 HCC and 10 LC were found to be HBxAg negative, IGF-2 was positive in 23 HCC (82.1%) and 6 LC (60%). The positive expression rates of IGF-2 in the HBxAg positive tissues were significantly higher than those in the HBxAg negative tissues (P < 0.05). There were three types of IGF-2 distribution in HCC and LC: (1) perinucleus; (2) diffuse in cytoplasm; (3) in nucleus. Small polygonal liver cells (SPLC) were found in the liver tissue surrounding the tumor or cirrhosis, the SPLC were positive to both IGF-2 and HBxAg. The positive rates of IGF-2 in SPLC were 86.4% (38/44) in HBxAg positive group and 40.5% (15/37) in the HBxAg negative group. The above findings suggest that IGF-2 plays an important role in abnormal proliferation of HCC and SPLC. The relation of IGF-2 and HBxAg and the nature of SPLC were also discussed.