Association between hepatocellular carcinoma and DNA repair capacity

Objective To explore the relationship between DNA repair capacity and susceptibility of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods Totally 150 newly histopathologically diagnosed HCC patients were enrolled as the case group and 150 non-cancer patients as the control.DNA repair capacity was tested with comet assay.Results Before exposure to bleomycin(BLM) agent,the tail length and moment were 3.98±2.35 and 1.41±0.85 in the HCC group,respectively.Compared with that of peripheral lymphocyte of control group 3.60±2.04,1.24±0.66,there was no difference in the comet tail length and moment between the case and the control group(P>0.05).Fifteen minutes repair after the exposure,the tail length and moment were 6.60±3.11 and 2.59±1.56 in the HCC group.Compared with that of the control(4.69±2.44,1.58±0.96),both the comet tail length and the tail moment in HCC group were significantly higher,indicating severe DNA injury in HCC group(P<0.01).With comet tail length as an indicator,the median of DNA repair capacity in HCC group was 78.65%,lower than 93.81% in the control(P<0.01).And with comet tail moment as an indicator,the median of DNA repair capacity in HCC group was 77.78%,lower than 93.11% in the control(P0.01).Conclusion The low DNA repair capacity may be the risk factor of HCC and DNA repair capacity can function as the warning biomarker of HCC onset.