Immunohistochemical Study of Glypican-3 and HepPar-1 in Differentiating Hepatocellular Carcinoma from Metastatic Carcinomas in FNA of the Liver.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a common malignant cancer worldwide, it is considered the fifth most common malignant cancer. On the other hand, metastatic tumors are widespread in the liver , with metastatic adenocarcinoma (MA) constituting the greatest part, therefore differentiation of HCC from MA is a frequent problem facing the pathologist especially in liver fine-needle aspiration biopsies. Evaluating the diagnostic value of glypican-3 (GPC-3) and HepPar-1 immunostaining in differentiating hepatocellular carcinoma from metastatic tumors in liver cell block material. Fourty eight cell blocks prepared from FNA from the liver ( 30 cases HCC, 18 cases metastatic carcinoma in liver) stained by Glypican -3 and HepPar-1 immunohistochemical markers. Glypican-3 was immunoexpressed in 97% of cases of HCC while all cases of metastatic carcinoma were negative. HepPar-1 was expressed in 93% of cases of HCC and 11% of metastatic carcinoma of the liver. In this study the sensitivity of GPC3 in the diagnosis of HCC in cytological material was 96.7% and the specificity was 100% while the sensitivity and specificity of HepPar-1 was 93.3% and 88.9% respectively. Immunohistochemical staining for GPC-3 in cell block material of the liver is highly sensitive and specific and it is a valuable tool capable of differentiating HCC from most of metastatic tumors of the liver.