Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is the malignant stage of liver cancer. It is the third-leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, accounting for more than 700,000 deaths yearly. Several risk factors have been involved in the growth and progression of HCC, especially chronic viral hepatitis, non-viral hepatitis, chronic alcohol intake, certain disease states (obesity and diabetes), and consumption of toxin-contaminated staples.
The early diagnosis and effective treatment of HCC can impact both clinical outcomes and the economic burden. Serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is the most widely used biomarker for HCC screening, early diagnosis, and evaluation of therapeutic efficacy and prognosis. However, not all HCCs secrete AFP, and AFP may be elevated in cirrhosis or hepatitis cases.
HCC, diagnosed in the early stage, can be treated with an excellent long-term prognosis, where the principal treatment choice would be surgical resection or liver transplantation. However, in most HCC patients, the cancer is diagnosed at an advanced stage, and surgical treatment can no longer be an option. Therefore, these patients undergo chemotherapy, which destroys the proliferation of new cancer cells via a chemotherapeutic agent, such as sorafenib.
Dosing with chemotherapy has been demonstrated to increase patient survival by about 7-10 months. Recently approved multi-kinase inhibitors for HCC treatment include regorafenib (for secondary treatment after sorafenib) and levatinib (another first-line drug to treat HCC besides sorafenib). However, neither provides additional benefits compared to sorafenib treatment.
The underlying molecular mechanisms of HCC progression remain unclear. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop novel and effective therapeutic strategies and reliable prognostic biomarkers. To address this unmet need, this Research Topic will focus on prognosis and diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. We welcome original research articles, systematic review, meta-analysis, clinical case studies, and review articles within the scope of the research topic. Bioinformatics studies are welcome; however, these should not be based solely on analysis of publicly available datasets such as TCGA. It is essential to have an independent validation cohort for statistically significant confirmation of the findings communicated. The submissions can include but not limited to the following subtopics:
• Identifying molecular targets, regulators, and genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that underlie hepatocellular carcinoma development.
• Molecular therapeutic mechanisms and clinical studies related to hepatocellular carcinoma.
• Drug target identification for hepatocellular carcinoma.
• Novel prognostic biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma.
• Prognosis and therapeutic response of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is the malignant stage of liver cancer. It is the third-leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, accounting for more than 700,000 deaths yearly. Several risk factors have been involved in the growth and progression of HCC, especially chronic viral hepatitis, non-viral hepatitis, chronic alcohol intake, certain disease states (obesity and diabetes), and consumption of toxin-contaminated staples.
The early diagnosis and effective treatment of HCC can impact both clinical outcomes and the economic burden. Serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is the most widely used biomarker for HCC screening, early diagnosis, and evaluation of therapeutic efficacy and prognosis. However, not all HCCs secrete AFP, and AFP may be elevated in cirrhosis or hepatitis cases.
HCC, diagnosed in the early stage, can be treated with an excellent long-term prognosis, where the principal treatment choice would be surgical resection or liver transplantation. However, in most HCC patients, the cancer is diagnosed at an advanced stage, and surgical treatment can no longer be an option. Therefore, these patients undergo chemotherapy, which destroys the proliferation of new cancer cells via a chemotherapeutic agent, such as sorafenib.
Dosing with chemotherapy has been demonstrated to increase patient survival by about 7-10 months. Recently approved multi-kinase inhibitors for HCC treatment include regorafenib (for secondary treatment after sorafenib) and levatinib (another first-line drug to treat HCC besides sorafenib). However, neither provides additional benefits compared to sorafenib treatment.
The underlying molecular mechanisms of HCC progression remain unclear. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop novel and effective therapeutic strategies and reliable prognostic biomarkers. To address this unmet need, this Research Topic will focus on prognosis and diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. We welcome original research articles, systematic review, meta-analysis, clinical case studies, and review articles within the scope of the research topic. Bioinformatics studies are welcome; however, these should not be based solely on analysis of publicly available datasets such as TCGA. It is essential to have an independent validation cohort for statistically significant confirmation of the findings communicated. The submissions can include but not limited to the following subtopics:
• Identifying molecular targets, regulators, and genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that underlie hepatocellular carcinoma development.
• Molecular therapeutic mechanisms and clinical studies related to hepatocellular carcinoma.
• Drug target identification for hepatocellular carcinoma.
• Novel prognostic biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma.
• Prognosis and therapeutic response of hepatocellular carcinoma.
