Year-end Sale % OFF 
Abstract
BackgroundHepatocellular carcinoma is the most common primary liver malignancy, with the highest incidence in the developing world, including Egypt. Hepatocellular carcinoma is usually diagnosed in the terminal stage of the disease because of the low sensitivity of the available screening tests. During the process of carcinogenesis, the cellular metabolism is altered to allow cancer cells to adapt to the hypoxic environment and therefore increase anabolic synthesis and survival and avoid the apoptotic death signals. These changes in metabolic status can be tracked by metabolomics analysis.Main bodyMetabolomics is a comprehensive approach for identifying metabolic signatures towards the screening, prediction, and earlier diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma with greater efficiency than the conventional diagnostic biomarker. The identification of metabolic changes associated with hepatocellular carcinoma is essential to the understanding of disease pathophysiology and enables better monitoring of high-risk individuals. However, due to the complexity of the metabolic pathways associated with hepatocellular carcinoma, the details of these perturbations are still not adequately characterized. The current status of biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma and their insufficiencies and metabolic pathways linked to hepatocellular carcinogenesis are briefly addressed in this mini-review. The review focused on the significantly changed metabolites and pathways associated with hepatocellular carcinoma such as phospholipids, bile acids, amino acids, reactive oxygen species metabolism, and the metabolic changes related to energy production in a cancer cell. The review briefly discusses the sensitivity of metabolomics in the prediction and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma and the effect of coexisting multiple etiologies of the disease.ConclusionsMetabolomics profiling is a potentially promising tool for better predicting, diagnosis, and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Highlights
Metabolomics as a cancer biomarker discovery tool Metabolomics is the comprehensive identification of all small metabolites of less than 1.5 kDa in molecular weight in a tissue sample
Current serum markers do not play an essential role in determining prognosis and response to Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment; instead, the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer Staging System (BCLC) and Milan criteria are widely used to predict the prognosis for HCC [11, 12]
Numerous published HCC metabolomics studies demonstrated the pathways involved in hepatic carcinogenesis and detected metabolites with potential use as biomarkers for HCC and cirrhosis [27, 28]
Summary
Hepatocellular carcinoma and deficiencies in current diagnostic procedures Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third deadliest cancer worldwide, with a 5-year survival rate of about 10% [1, 2]. The American Association of Study for Liver Diseases (AASLD) pointed to the unreliability of AFP in accurately screening for HCC and excluded AFP as a diagnostic modality for HCC [7, 8]. Current serum markers do not play an essential role in determining prognosis and response to HCC treatment; instead, the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer Staging System (BCLC) and Milan criteria are widely used to predict the prognosis for HCC [11, 12]. Serum markers can be used as an adjuvant to monitor the prognosis of HCC, and high levels of AFP predict poor survival in HCC patients treated with liver transplant [11]. It is quite clear that to improve the early detection of HCC, a more accurate screening and diagnostic test are required to overcome the limitation of the current modalities [15]. The importance of metabolomics studies and the current status of some potential biomarkers of HCC are discussed
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
