MicroRNA-219-5p Promotes Tumor Growth and Metastasis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Regulating Cadherin 1.

MicroRNAs play significant roles in the development of cancer and may serve as promising therapeutic targets. In our previous work, miR-219-5p was identified as one of the important metastasis-related microRNAs in HCC. Here we demonstrated that miR-219-5p expression was elevated in HCC tissues and was associated with vascular invasion and dismal prognosis.

Osteopontin promotes metastasis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma through recruiting MAPK1 and mediating Ser675 phosphorylation of β-Catenin.

The incidence and mortality of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) are increasing worldwide in recent decades. Osteopontin (OPN) plays an important role in cancer metastasis, but its functional mechanism in ICC is not clear yet. In this study, we found that OPN level was elevated both in plasma and tumor tissues of ICC patients, which was closely related to a shorter overall survival (OS) and high probability of tumor relapse after curative resection.

Whole-exome mutational and transcriptional landscapes of combined hepatocellular cholangiocarcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma reveal molecular diversity.

Background: Primary liver cancer (PLC) is the third largest contributor to cancer mortality in the world. PLC is a heterogeneous disease that encompasses several biologically distinct subtypes including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (CHC). CHC is a distinct, albeit rare, subtype of PLC and is comprised of cells with histopathological features of both HCC and ICC.

Interleukin-6 enhances cancer stemness and promotes metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma via up-regulating osteopontin expression.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6), one of the most important inflammatory cytokines, plays a pivotal role in metastasis and stemness of solid tumors. However, the underlying mechanisms of IL-6 in HCC metastasis remain unclear. In the present study, we demonstrated that stemness and metastatic potential of HCC cells were significantly enhanced after IL-6 stimulation.

β-catenin mutation is correlated with a favorable prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

The β-catenin gene is frequently mutated in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and has long been thought to be one of the major oncogenes involved in the hepatocarcinogenesis. The prognostic role of β-catenin mutation in HCC remains unclear. To address this issue, a search for relevant studies was performed in the PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases.

MicroRNA-26a suppresses tumor growth and metastasis of human hepatocellular carcinoma by targeting interleukin-6-Stat3 pathway.

Unlabelled: Down-regulation of microRNA-26a (miR-26a) is associated with poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but its functional mechanism in HCC remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the roles of miR-26a in tumor growth and metastasis of HCC and found that miR-26a was frequently down-regulated in HCC tissues. Down-regulation of miR-26a correlated with HCC recurrence and metastasis.

MicroRNA-29a-5p is a novel predictor for early recurrence of hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma after surgical resection.

It is still difficult to predict the probability of tumor recurrence after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we set out to identify specific microRNA (miRNA) in microdissected hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC tissue from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples which might be used in predicting early recurrence after HCC resection. Taqman low density arrays were used to detect the 667 miRNA profiles in both the microdissected tumorous and adjacent non-tumorous liver tissues from 20 HCC patients (discovery set) including 10 patients with early tumor recurrence and 10 without early tumor recurrence and to identify the differentially expressed miRNAs related to HCC recurrence.

Association of specific genotypes in metastatic suppressor HTPAP with tumor metastasis and clinical prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

The phosphatidic acid phosphatase HTPAP has been defined as a metastatic suppressor of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but little is known about its function or potential applications as a prognostic marker. In this study, we analyzed patterns of HTPAP genetic variation and gene expression in 864 patients who underwent HCC resection, assessing these patterns for correlations to tumor metastasis potential. Focusing on two tagSNPs that were selected (+357G/C and +1838A/G), we found that only the +357G/C genotype was significantly associated with HTPAP mRNA and protein expression levels and the probability of metastasis.