AIM:Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is a significant healthproblem in China.But the molecular mechanisms of HCCremains unclear.APC/β-Catenin/Tcf signaling pathway,alsoknown as Wnt pathway,plays a critical role in thedevelopment and oncogenesis.As little is known about thealteration of human T-cell transcription factor-4(hTcf-4)genein HCC,it is of interest to study the expression and mutationof hTcf-4 gene in HCC and the relationship between hTcf-4gene and progression of HCC.METHODS:Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)method was used to detect the expression of hTcf-4 mRNA in 32 HCC and para-cancerous tissues and 5 normalliver tissues.PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism(PCR-SSCP)method was used to detect the mutation ofhTcf-4 exons 1,4,9 and 15 in HCC.The correlation ofexpression and mutation of the hTcf-4 gene withclinicopathological characteristics of HCC was also analyzed.RESULTS:RT-PCR showed that the expression rate of hTcf-4 mRNA in HCC,para-cancerous tissues and normal livertissues was 90.6 %,71.9 % and 80 %,respectively.Thegene expression level in tumor was 0.71±0.13,much higherthan that in para-cancerous liver 0.29±0.05 and normal liver0.26±0.05(P<0.001),although there was no significantdifference in gene expression level between para-canceroustissues and normal liver(P>0.05).Furthermore,hTcf-4 geneexpression was closely associated with tumor capsule statusand intrahepatic metastasis of HCC.On SSCP,2 of 32 casesof HCC(6.25 %)displayed characteristic mutational mobilityshifts in exon 15 of the hTcf-4 gene.No abnormal shiftingbands were observed in para-cancerous tissues.CONCLUSION: The high expression level of hTcf-4 in HCC, especially in tumors with metastasis, suggests that the over-expression of hTcf-4 gene may be closely associated with development and progression of HCC, but the mutation of this gene seemed to play less important role in this respect. AIM: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a significant health problem in China. But the molecular mechanisms of HCCremains unclear. APC / β-Catenin / Tcf signaling pathway, alsoknown as Wnt pathway, plays a critical role in the development and oncogenesis. about the alteration of human T-cell transcription factor-4 (hTcf-4) genein HCC, it is of interest to study the expression and mutation of hTcf-4 gene in HCC and the relationship between hTcf-4 gene and progression of HCC. METHODS: Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method was used to detect the expression of hTcf-4 mRNA in 32 HCC and para-cancerous tissues and 5 normalliver tissues. PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism detect the mutation of hTcf-4 exons 1, 4, 9 and 15 in HCC.The correlation ofexpression and mutation of the hTcf-4 gene with clinicopathological characteristics of HCC was also analyzed.RESULTS: RT-PCR showed that the expression rate of hTcf-4 mRNA in HCC, para-cancerous tiss ues and normal livertissues were 90.6%, 71.9% and 80% respectively. The gene expression level in tumor was 0.71 ± 0.13, much higherthan that in para-cancerous liver 0.29 ± 0.05 and normal liver 0.26 ± 0.05 (P <0.001) Although there was no significant difference between gene expression level between para-cancerous lesions and normal liver (P> 0.05) .Furthermore, hTcf-4 geneexpression was closely associated with tumor capsule status and intrahepatic metastasis of HCC.On SSCP, 2 of 32 cases of HCC (6.25 %) displayed characteristic mutational mobility shifts in exon 15 of the hTcf-4 gene. Non conventional shifting bands were observed in para-cancerous tissues. CONCLUSION: The high expression level of hTcf-4 in HCC, especially in tumors with metastasis, suggests that the over -expression of hTcf-4 gene may be closely associated with development and progression of HCC, but the mutation of this gene seemed to play less important role in this respect.