Talin-1 Gene Expression as a Tumor Marker in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients: A Pilot Study

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver tumor. It is the second most common cancer in men and the sixth in women in Egypt. One of the proteins participating in the trans-endothelial migration is Talin-1. It also has a role in the formation and metastasis of different types of cancer. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic impact of Talin-1 gene expression in HCC Egyptian patients.

Our study included forty HCC patients, thirty liver cirrhosis patients without HCC and thirty healthy subjects. For all groups, clinical and biochemical parameters were investigated. Tumor characteristics were assessed and tumor staging was done using Okuda, CLIP, VISUM and Tokyo staging systems. In addition, Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) levels were assayed using Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA) and Talin-1 gene expression was assessed in the Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) via quantitative real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).

Talin-1 gene expression was significantly upregulated in HCC patients in comparison to cirrhotic and control subjects. The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that Talin-1 gene expression surpasses serum levels of AFP in the diagnosis of HCC. In particular, the cut off value of 9.5 (2^-∆∆Ct) recorded an AUC of 85.7% with a sensitivity of 93.3% and specificity of 80%.

Our data confirmed an évident diagnostic role of Talin-1 gene expression for HCC detection.