The relationship between 67KD laminin receptor expression and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The 67KD laminin receptor (LN-R) that binds laminin (LN) is involved in the metastasis cascade. Using immunohistochemical technique, in situ hybridization and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), we studied LN-R protein and RNA levels in 30 cases of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to further understand its role in the metastasis of HCC. In our 14 cases of HCC with metastasis, its positive rates were 71.4%, 57.1%, 85.7% respectively, whereas its positive expression in 16 cases without metastasis were 31.3%, 18.8%, 50.0% respectively. The significant difference was found between these two groups. The results suggest that the 67KD LN-R expression plays a very important role in the metastasis of HCC.