Abstract:Objective:To investigate the expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the clinical significance. Methods:Tissue microarray(TMAs) including 36 specimens of non-tumor liver disease and 109 specimens of HCC(containing tumor tissue and adjacent non-cancerous tissue) were prepared. MCP-1, VEGF and CD68 were detected with immunohistochemistry method. Blood capillaries stained for CD34 were counted in HCC, and microvessel density (MVD) was determined. Results:The expression rate of MCP-1 cancer cells, adjacent non-cancerous tissues and non-tumor liver diseases was 40.4%, 67.0% and 44.4% respectively. The expression of MCP-1 was correlated with that of VEGF(r = 0.233,P = 0.015) and MVD(r = 0.234,P = 0.014). MCP-1 expression in TMAs was significantly correlated with the pathological stage(P < 0.05), but not with tumor size, tumor number, blood vessel invasion, differentiation, cirrhosis and prognosis. Conclusion:MCP-1 may play an important role in HCC angiogenesis through inducing the production of angiogenic factors, such as VEGF. But the expression of MCP-1 in HCC can’t be regarded as an indicator of prognosis.