Mast cells and human hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM:To investigate the density of mast cells (MCs) inhuman hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC),and to determinewhether the MCs density has any correlations withhistopathological grading,staging or some baseline patientcharacteristics.METHODS:Tissue sections of 22 primary HCCs werehistochemically stained with toluidine blue,in order to beable to quantify the MCs in and around the neoplasm usinga computer-assisted image analysis system.HCC wasstaged and graded by two independent pathologists.Toidentify the sinusoidal capillarisation of each specimen 3μm thick sections were histochemically stained with siriusred,and semi-quantitatively evaluated by two independentobservers.The data were statistically analysed usingSpearman’s correlation and Student’s t-test whenappropriate.RESULTS:MCs density did not correlate with the age orsex of the patients,the serum alanine aminotransferase(ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels,or thestage or grade of the HCC.No significant differenceswere found between the MCs density of the patientswith and without hepatitis C virus infection,but they weresignificantly higher in the specimens showing markedsinusoidal capillarisation.CONCLUSION:The lack of any significant correlationbetween MCs density and the stage or grade of the neoplasticlesions suggests that there is no causal relationship betweenMCs recruitment and HCC.However,as capillarisationproceeds concurrently with arterial blood supply duringhepatocarcinogenesis,MCs may be considered of primaryimportance in the transition from sinusoidal to capillary-typeendothelial cells and the HCC growth.