Biochemical And Environmental Studies On Hepatoma Patients In Egypt

Abstract

The present study was carried out on 102 hepatoma patients collected mainly from the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, during the period 1988-1991 . Environmental and personal data were collected for each patient. These data included their age, sex and occupation. Previous history of fertilisers were also considered. The study revealed a peak of age of primary liver cancer, among Egyptians, between the fifth and sixth decades, since 32.4% and 28.4% of patients were aging from 50-60 and 60-70 years old, respectively. Results showed that 89.2% of the patients were diagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) whereas 10.8% of them suffered other types of hepatoma. 43 of the patients were farmers and exposed to chemical agents during their work. An intimate relation was observed between hepatoma patients and bilharziasis, which dominated in 41.2% of the patients investigated. The biochemical parameters investigated, revealed significant elevation in alpha fetoprotein level (AFP) in hepatoma patients as compared to controls, whereas the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) did not show any significant changes, regardless the histopathological type of hepatoma. Liver enzymes, namely 5-nucleotidase (5-Nase), leucine, aminopeptidase (LAP), transaminases (AST and ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT); revealed significant elevation in hepatoma patients as compared to their corresponding levels among controls. 5-Nase was significantly elevated in sera of HCC patients when compared to sera of patients suffering from other types of hepatoma. The periodic acid Schiff (PAS) technique was used to study the content of glycogen in liver tissue, histochemically. The results revealed loss of glycogen inside the hepatoma cells, whereas the stroma of the tumours were abundantly rich with glycogen.