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
. 2017 Apr 1;18(4):863-872.
doi: 10.22034/APJCP.2017.18.4.863.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma: a Comprehensive Review of Biomarkers, Clinical Aspects, and Therapy

Nathalia Martines Tunissiolli  1   2 , Márcia Maria Urbanin Castanhole-Nunes, Patrícia Matos Biselli-Chicote, Érika Cristina Pavarino, Renato Ferreira da Silva, Rita de Cássia Martins Alves da Silva, Eny Maria Goloni-Bertollo
Affiliations

Hepatocellular Carcinoma: a Comprehensive Review of Biomarkers, Clinical Aspects, and Therapy

Nathalia Martines Tunissiolli et al. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. .

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a cause of several deaths related to cancer worldwidely. In early stage, curative treatments such as surgical resection, liver transplant and local ablation can improve the patient ´s survival. However, the disease is detected in advanced stage; moreover some available therapies are restricted to palliative care and local treatment. Early detections of HCC and adequate therapy are crucial to increase survival as well as to improve the patient´s quality of life. Therefore, researchers have been investigating molecular biomarkers with high sensibility and reliability as Golgi 73 protein (GP73), Glypican-3 (GPC3), Osteopontin (OPN), microRNAs and others. MicroRNAs can regulate important pathways on carcinogenesis, as tumor angiogenesis and progression. So, they can be considered as possible markers of prognosis in HCC, and therapeutic target for this tumor type. In this review, we discuss the recent advances related to the cause (highlighting the main risk factors), treatment, biomarkers, clinic aspects, and outcome in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma; causes; biomarkers; treatment; prognosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Risk Factors for the Development Stage of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. HCV (Hepatitis C virus), HBV (Hepatitis B virus), ¹AIH (Autoimmune Hepatitis), 2Genetic Diseases: Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, Hemochromatosis, Porphyria and Tyrosinemia. *The Spectrum of NAFLD: Steatosis, NASH and Cirrhosis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer Stanging and Treatment Allocation. Adapted from Bruix J. Sherman M. Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: an Update, 2010. CLT, Cadaveric Liver Transplantation; HCC, Hepatocellular Carcinoma; LDLT, Living Donor Liver Transplantation; M, Metastasis Classification; N, Node Classification; OS, Overall Survival; PEI, Percutaneous Ethanol Injection; PST, Performance Status Test; RF, Radiofrequency.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abreu RM, Ferreira CS, Nasser PD, et al. Hepatocellular Carcinoma:The final moments of life. J Cancer Ther. 2013;4:377–83.
    1. Adam R, Karam V, Delvart V, et al. Evolution of indications and results of liver transplantation in Europe. A report from the European liver transplant registry (ELTR) J Hepatol. 2012;57:675–88. - PubMed
    1. Akamatsu N, Sugawara Y, Kokudo N. Living-donor vs deceased-donor liver transplantation for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. World J Hepatol. 2014;6:626–31. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alqurashi N, Hashimi SM, Wei MQ. Chemical inhibitors and microRNAs (miRNA) targeting the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway:potential for novel anticancer therapeutics. Int J Mol Sci. 2013;14:3874–900. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Anwar SL, Lehmann U. MicroRNAs:Emerging novel clinical biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinomas. J Clin Med. 2015;4:1631–50. - PMC - PubMed