Overexpression of nucleotide metabolic enzyme DUT in hepatocellular carcinoma potentiates a therapeutic opportunity through targeting its dUTPase activity.

Uracil misincorporation during DNA replication is a major cell toxic event, of which cancer cells overcome by activating the dUTPase enzyme. The DUT gene is the only known dUTPase in human. Despite reports on common upregulations in cancers, the role of DUT in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains largely undetermined.

Genetic variation in ABCB5 associates with risk of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Expression of ATP-binding cassette B5 (ABCB5) has been demonstrated to confer chemoresistance, enhance cancer stem cell properties and associate with poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic variations of ABCB5 in HCC patients with reference to healthy individuals and the clinicopathological significance. A pilot study has examined 20 out of 300 pairs HCC and paralleled blood samples using conventional sequencing method to cover all exons and exon/intron regions to investigate whether there will be novel variant sequence and mutation event.

Better survival after stereotactic body radiation therapy following transarterial chemoembolization in nonresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: A propensity score matched analysis.

Background: This study compared outcomes of nonresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who had transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) vs. stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) after TACE (TACE + SBRT).

Methods: This was a retrospective study of 2 centers in Hong Kong.