Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer mortality and has an increasing incidence worldwide. HCC can be induced by multiple etiologies, is influenced by many risk factors, and has a complex pathogenesis. Furthermore, HCCs exhibit substantial heterogeneity, which compounds the difficulties in developing effective therapies against this highly lethal cancer. With advances in cancer biology and molecular and genetic profiling, a number of different mechanisms involved in the development and progression of HCC have been identified. Despite the advances in this area, the molecular pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma is still not completely understood. This review aims to elaborate our current understanding of the most relevant genetic alterations and molecular pathways involved in the development and progression of HCC, and anticipate the potential impact of future advances on therapeutic drug development.
Highlights
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver malignancy and the sixth most common cancer worldwide[1]
The poor prognosis observed is likely explained by the observation that, in late stages of HCC, TGFβ is known to promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which is a key mechanism involved in promoting tumor metastases[129]
Conclusions and future directions HCC is a heterogeneous malignancy resulting from diverse causes of chronic liver injury, with viral hepatitis being the most common etiology
Summary
Faculty Reviews are review articles written by the prestigious Members of Faculty Opinions. The articles are commissioned and peer reviewed before publication to ensure that the final, published version is comprehensive and accessible. The reviewers who approved the final version are listed with their names and affiliations. F1000Research 2016, 5(F1000 Faculty Rev):[879] Last updated: 20 FEB 2021 Any comments on the article can be found at the end of the article
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