• Development and Reproduction
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.167-174
• /
• 2023

Development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is driven by a multistep and long-term process. Because current therapeutic strategies are limited for HCC patients, there are increasing demands for understanding of immunotherapy, which has made technological and conceptual innovations in the treatment of cancer. Here, I discuss HCC immunotherapy in the view of interaction between liver resident cells and immune cells.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.7
• /
• pp.3489-3493
• /
• 2012

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common primary hepatic tumor, is highly prevalent in the Asia-Pacific region, including Thailand. Many genetic and epigenetic alterations in HCC have been elucidated. The aim of this study was to determine whether aberrant methylation of the suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 gene (SOCS1) occurs in HCCs. Methylation specific-PCR assays were performed to identify the methylation status of SOCS1 in 29 tumors and their corresponding normal liver tissues. An abnormal methylation status was detected in 17 (59%), with a higher prevalence of aberrant SOCS1 methylation significantly correlating with HCC treated without chemotherapy (OR=0.04, 95%CI=0.01-0.31; P=0.001). This study suggests that epigenetic aberrant SOCS1 methylation may be a predictive marker for HCC patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.8
• /
• pp.4509-4513
• /
• 2013

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has long been the most common cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, some aspects of the pathogenesis of HBV infection and genesis of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are still inconclusive. An increasing number of published studies indicate that hepatitis B virus mutations are associated with risk of HCC. These variations include, in particular, mutations in ORF S,C,X gene regions. This mini-review summarizes results of clinical studies and molecular mechanisms on the possible relations of HBV mutations with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.8
• /
• pp.3479-3483
• /
• 2015

Objective: Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in stage Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC)-A were grouped based on whether they were accompanied with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection or not so as to explore the clinical characteristics and prognostic conditions of HCC patients with non-HBV/hepatitis C virus (HCV). Materials and Methods: Clinical data of 64 stage BCLC-A HCC patients with non-HBV/HCV infection (observation group) who received radical hepatectomy in the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from January, 2006 to November, 2014 were retrospectively analyzed and compared with those of 409 stage BCLC-A HCC patients with HBV infection (control group) in corresponding period. Results: The postoperative 1-, 3- and 5-year recurrent rates of the observation group were 25%, 38.6% and 48.8%, with postoperative mean and median disease-free survival time being 49.1 months and 62.0 months, respectively. Additionally, the postoperative 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates of observation group were 90.1%, 72.7% and 62.0%, with the mean and median survival times being 54.4 months and 70.0 months, respectively. Conclusions: The 1-year recurrent rate is the highest in HCC patients with non-HBV/HCV, and almost half of the patients have recurrence within 1 year, after which the recurrent rate decreases along with the time.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.1579-1583
• /
• 2013

Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, its main function being to participate in recognition and adhesion between cells. ICAM-1 is considered closely related to occurrence, development, metastasis and invasion process of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A variety of inflammatory cytokines and stimulus affect its expression through the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$) signal transduction pathway. In the initial stage of inflammation, hepatocirrhosis and tumor development, ICAM-1 is expressed differently, and has varied effects on different cells to promote occurrence of malignancy and metastasis. ICAM-1 has diagnostic significance for AFP-negative or suspected HCC, and may be a prognositic significance. It is thus widely used in studies as a biomarker which reflects cancer cells metastasis as well as curative effect of drugs. Many new treatments of HCC may be based on the effects of ICAM-1 on different levels of function.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.12
• /
• pp.5955-5958
• /
• 2012

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the sixth most prevalent cancer worldwide, continues to have high prevalence in many countries of Asia. The main challenge is the high prevalence of chronic hepatitis and aflatoxin, for example in China. HBV vaccination should be the major preventive tactic in Asian countries. The burden of HCC is low in Iran because most cases are due to HBV and this infection was less common. Although in Iran, a mass vaccination program started in 1993, its impact on decreasing the burden of HCC due to HBV can only be expected in future decades.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.8
• /
• pp.4655-4660
• /
• 2013

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide due to its generally poor prognosis. Caregiver burden for liver cancer cases is higher than with other cancer and needs especial attention. Methods: To explore the experiences of families of patients with newly diagnosed advanced terminal stage hepatocellular cancer by interview. Results: Nine participants were recruited in this study. Content analysis of the interviews revealed four themes: blaming oneself, disrupting the pace of life, searching all possible regimens, and not letting go. Conclusions: This study provides new insight into the needs and support of family members especially when they are facing loved ones with newly diagnosed advanced terminal stage HCC. These results will inform future supportive care service development and intervention research aimed at providing assistance in reducing unmet supportive care needs and psychological distress of these family members.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.613-619
• /
• 2015

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the commonest primary malignant cancer of the liver in the world. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels reflect hepatic function and are inversely correlated with the severity of background chronic liver disease. Objective: This study evaluated whether basal serum IGF-1 levels can predict prognosis of HCC patients according to different risks of disease progression. Materials and Methods: A total of 89 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were recruited in 3 groups: Group I, 30 HCC patients receiving sorafinib; Group II, 30 HCC patients with best supportive care; and Group III include 29 patients undergoing transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). All patients were investigated for serum levels of AST, ALP, Bb, Cr, BUN, AFP and IGF-I. Results: Patients with disease control had significantly higher baseline IGF-1 levels 210 (185-232.5) ng/mL (p value<0.01) than did patients without disease control. Low basal IGF-1 levels were associated with advanced HCC, such as multiple tumors and advanced stage, and low IGF-1 levels predicted shorter TTP and overall survival in patients treated with TACE. Conclusions: The levels of serum IGF-1, expressed as continuous values, may be helpful for accurately assessing hepatic function and the prognostic stratification of patients with HCC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.355-358
• /
• 2013

XRCC1 genetic polymorphisms could be associated with increased risk of various cancer, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the fifth most common cancer. We here conducted a study to explore the role of selective SNPs of the XRCC1 and XPD genes in the prognosis of HCC. A total of 231 cases were collected, and genotyping of XRCC1 Arg194Trp, XRCC1 Arg399Gln, XPD Lys751Gln and XPD Asp312Asn was performed by duplex polymerase-chain-reaction with the confronting-two-pair primer method. Our findings indicated XRCC1 399Gln/Gln genotype was associated with a significant difference in the median survival time compared with patients carrying Arg/Trp and Arg/Arg genotypes, and individuals with XPD 751 Gln/ Gln genotype had a significantly greater survival time than patients carrying Lys/Lys and Lys/Gln genotypes. The Cox's regression analysis showed individuals carrying XRCC1 399Trp/Trp genotype had 0.55 fold risk of death from HCC than Arg/Arg genotype. Similarly, XPD 751Gln/Gln had a strong decreasein comparison to XPD Lys/Lys carriers with an HR of 0.34. These results suggest that polymorphisms in XRCC1 and XPD may have functional significance in the prognosis of HCC.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.40 no.11
• /
• pp.847-854
• /
• 2017

Recent studies on molecular carcinogenesis suggest that the chemo-resistance of some cancers is largely due to presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which affect the chemotherapy outcome for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, currently no consensus on a CSC phenotype in HCC has been obtained. Here, we examined Sox12 as a novel CSC marker in HCC. Sox12+ versus Sox12- cells were purified from HCC cell lines. The Sox12+ cells were compared with Sox12- HCC cells for tumor sphere formation, chemo-resistance, tumor formation after serial adoptive transplantations in nude mice, and the frequency of developing distal metastasis. We found that compared to Sox12- HCC cells, Sox12+ HCC cells generated significantly more tumor spheres in culture, were more chemo-resistant to cisplatin, were detected in circulation more frequently, and formed distal tumor more frequently. Moreover, Sox12 appeared to functionally contribute to the stemness of HCC cells. Thus, we conclude that Sox12 may be a novel marker for enriching CSCs in HCC.