Expression of somatostatin receptors in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a prevalent malignant liver tumour worldwide.Somatostatin receptors (SSTR) are expressed in HCC and can be detected and applied in nuclear medicine. But small and early tumours are difficult to pick up radiologically. Little is known about the difference of using generic anti-somatostatin and SSTR subtype-specific antibodies in immunohistochemical detection of SSTR. Study on SSTR expression pattern that corresponds to beneficial clinical effect is still lacking.Expression of somatostatin receptor in 59 HCC cases was analyzed by immunohistochemistry using the rabbit anti-somatostatin and rabbit polyclonal to SSTR subtype 1-5. Survival outcome was constructed by Kaplan Meier method and compared using Log Rank Test. The commonly used anti-somatostatin is highly sensitive to detect SSTR compared with the subtype-specific stains. The mean expression (IPS) for SSTR1, SSTR2, SSTR3, SSTR4 and SSTR5 is 60, 10.25, 36.7, 111.9 and 96.6 respectively. No significant correlation was observed between SSTR expression and tumours’ Edmondson grade, size, capsulation and vascular invasion. Kaplan Meier curves showed that SSTR1, 4 and 5 positivity impact adversely on Disease Free Survival although it is not statistically significant.Generic anti-somatostatin antibody is useful in SSTR immunohistochemical detection. Analysis of SSTR expression pattern and its expression levels in individual patient might contribute to more accurate and sensitive radionuclide tests and increased treatment efficacy.Bachelor of Science in Biological Science