Dual functions of NEIL3 in DNA repair and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Twelve pairs of tumorous and peritumorous liver tissues (6 HBV- and 6 HCV-related HCC) that were obtained during the surgical liver resection of HCC patients were subjected to cDNA microarray analysis (Agilent Human Gene Expression v2 4x44K Microarray Kit) to screen the genes with expression levels that were different in the tumor than they were in the peritumorous tissue. The patients were regularly followed up at clinic visits every 1-3 months after hepatic resection. All the patients provided signed informed consent to use their surgical specimens for this research. All of the protocols for this study were reviewed and approved by the NCKUH Institutional Review Board (IRB No.: ER-100-058 [04/25/2011]). A total of 162 HCC cases were recruited: samples from 12 patients, 6 with HBV-related and 6 with HCV-related HCC, were analyzed with a cDNA microarray assay