VARIANT ESTROGEN-RECEPTOR MESSENGER-RNA SPECIES DETECTED IN HUMAN PRIMARY HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA

The development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in addition to cirrh osis affects males in a significantly higher proportion than females. Liver estrogen receptors increase when HCC develops in males; however, these tumors usually respond poorly to antiestrogens. We have, theref ore, hypothesized that, similar to breast cancer, estrogen receptors i n males with HCC may be mutated. Variant estrogen receptor transcripts (lacking exon 5 of the hormone binding domain) were investigated by r everse transcription-PCR in 14 patients (7 males and 7 females) with H CC. While females mostly displayed the wild-type transcript (both in p eritumoral and in tumor Liver tissue), males showed both transcripts i n the cirrhotic tissue and almost only the variant in the tumor. ris t he variant ER transcripts when translated could give rise to truncated receptors still able to constitutively activate transcription, they m ay be key factors in favoring deregulated proliferation in the male li ver.