Although the positive rate for at least one of the transcripts of three CTA genes in PBMC samples from 53 patients at TNM stage III or IV was obviously higher than that in PBMC samples from 37 patients at stage I or II (77.9% vs 51.4%, P = 0.010), the CTA mRNA was detected in 41.7% and 56.0% of PBMC samples from HCC patients at stages I and II, respectively.
The CTA genes are widely expressed in a variety of human cancers, such as melanoma, breast cancer, lung cancer, esophageal cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma; however, their expression in pediatric brain tumors, such as medulloblastoma (MB), has not been the subject of in-depth analysis.
PTEN mutation was found in only a subset of HCCs: A single base insertion at the end of the 5'-end splice signal (AG-GUAAGUU) in intron 5 and a silent mutation in exon 6 (codon 188, CTG-Val to CTA).
To investigate the expression of cancer-testis antigen (CTA) in Chinese patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and the relationship between CTA gene expression and clinical indexes, we used one-step reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).