Expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in hepatocellular carcinoma

The expression of intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1) was investigated in frozen sections obtained from 40 resected liver specimens of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma using immunoperoxidase techniques and immunoelectron microscopy. ICAM‐1 was expressed in 80% of the HCC specimens on the membrane of cancer cells. In noncancerous regions characterized by cirrhosis in 28 cases and chronic hepatitis in 12 cases, ICAM‐1 was rarely expressed on hepatocytes but was expressed mainly on the endothelium of portal vessels and sinusoidal lining cells. These results suggest that expression of ICAM‐1 in hepatocellular carcinoma may be induced by malignant transformation of hepatocytes. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.