Background: The clonality of hepatocellular carcinoma is still controversial. To evaluate the clonality of this cancer, mostly small multiple hepatocellular carcinomas of 18 patients were analyzed by DNA fingerprinting.
Methods: DNA from the liver tissues was digested with HinfI. After gel electrophoresis, in gel-hybridization with a synthetic oligonucleotide probe GTGGTGGTGGTGGTG was performed. The band patterns were compared among the tumors and the nontumor part. In patients positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), the integration pattern of hepatitis B viral DNA in liver tissues was also analyzed.
Results: Seven of the 9 HBsAg-positive patients had tumors with different clonalities by both methods. In the remaining 9 HBsAg-negative patients, 4 had different band patterns in their tumors by DNA fingerprinting.
Conclusions: Multiple hepatocellular carcinomas frequently have different clonalities; this finding reiterates the importance of eliminating the underlying cause and the contributing factors of hepatocarcinogenesis.