Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015 Jan-Feb;21(1):78-84.
doi: 10.5152/dir.2014.14237.

Radiomics and circulating tumor cells: personalized care in hepatocellular carcinoma?

Richard L Hesketh  1 , Andrew X Zhu, Rahmi Oklu
Affiliations
Review

Radiomics and circulating tumor cells: personalized care in hepatocellular carcinoma?

Richard L Hesketh et al. Diagn Interv Radiol. 2015 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

Personalized care in oncology is expected to significantly improve morbidity and mortality, facilitated by our increasing understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving tumors and the ability to target those drivers. Hepatocellular carcinoma has a very high mortality to incidence ratio despite localized disease being curable, emphasizing the importance of early diagnosis. Radiomics, the use of imaging technology to extrapolate molecular tumor data, and the detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are two new technologies that could be incorporated into the clinical setting with relative ease. Here we discuss the molecular mechanisms leading to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma focusing on the latest developments in liver magnetic resonance imaging, CTC, and radiomic technology and their potential to improve diagnosis, staging, and therapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Mechanisms of hepatocellular carcinogenesis. Carcinogenesis can be the direct result of an etiological agent or occur indirectly, secondary to cirrhosis. HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCV, hepatitis C virus; NASH, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Direct carcinogenic effects of major etiological agents. From left to right: the etiological agent, the viral protein/mechanism, the host gene/pathway affected, and the tumor promoting effect (red arrows, downregulated pathways; green arrows, upregulated pathways).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The major signaling pathways of HCC. Gene percentages represent typical frequencies of mutation in HCC (15).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
The central role of Myc signaling in HCC.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) using iChip (41). CTCs are isolated in a three-step process; initially there is hydrodynamic cell sorting, then inertial focusing, and finally magnetophoresis. This microfluidic platform depletes red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells leaving in the eluent a CTC-rich population of cells.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Goldzieher M, Bokay Z. Der primare Leber Krebs. Virchows Arch (A) 1911:75–131.
    1. Cancer Incidence and Mortality Worldwide. Available at: http://www.wcrf.org/cancer_statistics/world_cancer_statistics.php. Accessed May 25, 2014.
    1. Llovet JM, Fuster J, Bruix J. The Barcelona approach: diagnosis, staging, and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. Liver Transpl. 2004;10:S115–120. - PubMed
    1. Llovet JM, Bruix J. Systematic review of randomized trials for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: Chemoembolization improves survival. Hepatology. 2003;37:429–442. - PubMed
    1. Davila JA, Morgan RO, Richardson PA, Du XL, McGlynn KA, El-Serag HB. Use of surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma among patients with cirrhosis in the United States. Hepatology. 2010;52:132–141. - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms