Increased hepatic oxidative DNA damage in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Since oxidative DNA damage plays a role in experimental carcinogen-induced cancers, the purpose of the present study was to determine if hepatic oxida tive DNA damage was increased in patients with HCC compared to patients wit h benign hepatic tumors or hepatic metastases (non-HCC) or to patients with end-stage alcoholic liver disease undergoing liver transplantation. Oxidat ive DNA damage was assessed by 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG). Resul ts showed that peritumoral 8-OH-dG was markedly increased in HCC (N = 51) ( 180 +/- 74 vs 32 +/- 58-OH-dG/10(6) dG for tumor, P < 0.005) in contrast to patients with non-HCC (N = 17). in whom the periturnoral 8-OH-dG did not d iffer from that in tumor (39 +/- 7 vs. 31 +/- 108-OH-dG/10(6) dG). Oxidativ e DNA damage can be both mutagenic and carcinogenic; our data suggested it will be important in future studies to determine the chronology of this typ e of liver injury relative to hepatocarcinogenesis.