Abstract
Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumours in the world. It is a heterogeneous group of a tumour that vary in risk factor and genetic and epigenetic alteration event. Mortality due to HCC in last fifteen years has increased. Multiple factors including viruses, chemicals, and inborn and acquired metabolic diseases are responsible for its development. HCC is closely associated with hepatitis B virus, and at least in some regions of the world with hepatitis C virus. Liver injury caused by viral factor affects many cellular processes such as cell signalling, apoptosis, transcription, DNA repair which in turn induce important effects on cell survival, growth, transformation and maintenance. Molecular mechanisms of hepatocellular carcinogenesis may vary depending on different factors and this is probably why a large set of mechanisms have been associated with these tumours. Various biomarkers including α-fetoprotein, des-γ-carboxyprothrombin, glypican-3, golgi protein-73, squamous cell carcinoma antigen, circulating miRNAs and altered DNA methylation pattern have shown diagnostic significance. This review article covers up key molecular pathway alterations, biomarkers for diagnosis of HCC, anti-HCC drugs and relevance of key molecule/pathway/receptor as a drug target.
Highlights
Liver cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths worldwide
The current review describes the varied causes, molecular mechanism, biomarkers and drug targets for the diagnosis and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma
The 2.4kb subgenomic RNA produces large Hepatitis B surface Antigen (HBsAg) protein, 2.1kb RNAs produce the middle HBsAg (M-HBsAg) and small HBsAg (S-HBsAg) proteins, and 0.7kb RNA is translated to the HBxAg protein
Summary
Liver cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths worldwide. Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is the major form of liver cancer. Hepatitis B and C infections accounted for most of the morbidity and mortality since it leads to progressive hepatic damage in patients and causing cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma [3]. In areas of high incidence, HCC has been reported in children of even two years of age. It is four times more common in males while in high prevalence areas, it is about eight times more common. This report may be partially ascribed to the collective effect of other factors including higher levels of alcohol intake and smoking coupled with a higher incidence of cirrhosis in males. The current review describes the varied causes, molecular mechanism, biomarkers and drug targets for the diagnosis and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma
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