Clinical significance of aflatoxin, mutant P53 gene and sIL-2 receptor in liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) varies widely worldwide. Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and exposure to aflatoxins in foodstuffs are the main risk factors. AAG to AGT transversion at codon 249 of the P53 gene arg-ser (249ser) has been identified as a hotspot, reflecting DNA damage caused by aflatoxin B1 metabolites in HCC. Because HBV infection is often endemic in high aflatoxin exposure areas, it is still not clear whether HBV acts as a con-founder or as a synergistic partner in the development of the 249ser P53 mutation. Serum levels of soluble interleukin 2 receptor (sIL-2R) correlated with the progression of liver cirrhosis independently of its etiology. This fact may reflect the stimulation of T-lymphocytes, monocytes and macrophages in liver cirrhosis. The inter-relationship among aflatoxin exposure, HBV & HCV infections, P53 & sIL-2R in patients with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma was studied. The results revealed significant increase in serum levels of mutant P53, sIL-2R and aflatoxin B1 in patients with cirrhosis and those with HCC compared to the controls. HCC patients showed levels of all the three parameters significantly higher than both cirrhotics and controls (P<0.001). Correlations were found between serum aflatoxin B1, mutant P53 and sIL-2R in HCC group. The results were discussed.