Comparison of metastasis-inclined microenvironment (MIM) and metastasis-averse microenvironment (MAM) HCC patients

To determine the role of the hepatic microenvironment in HCC metastasis, we compared the gene expression profiles of 20 noncancerous surrounding hepatic tissues from two HCC patient groups, those with primary HCC together with venous metastasis which we termed a metastasis-inclined microenvironment (MIM) and those with HCC without detectable metastasis, which we termed a metastasis-averse microenvironment (MAM). Keywords: disease state design There were a total of 20 cDNA microarrays performed, comparing 9 MIM or 11 MAM HCC patient samples to a common reference pool of 8 normal liver tissues.