ER-residential Nogo-B accelerates NAFLD-associated HCC mediated by metabolic reprogramming of oxLDL lipophagy.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome that elevates the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Although alteration of lipid metabolism has been increasingly recognized as a hallmark of cancer cells, the deregulated metabolic modulation of HCC cells in the NAFLD progression remains obscure. Here, we discovers an endoplasmic reticulum-residential protein, Nogo-B, as a highly expressed metabolic modulator in both murine and human NAFLD-associated HCCs, which accelerates high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet-induced metabolic dysfunction and tumorigenicity.

Percutaneous Portal Vein Embolization Using a Simplified Sheathless 18-Gauge Trocar Needle Approach: Review of Efficacy and Safety.

Purpose: Portal vein (PV) embolization (PVE) is traditionally performed via a PV sheath with selective embolization of PV branches. Here, the efficacy and safety of PVE with the use of only an 18-gauge needle is reported.

Materials And Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent PVE from 2009 through 2017 were retrospectively reviewed.

Aberrant enhancer hypomethylation contributes to hepatic carcinogenesis through global transcriptional reprogramming.

Hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) exhibit distinct promoter hypermethylation patterns, but the epigenetic regulation and function of transcriptional enhancers remain unclear. Here, our affinity- and bisulfite-based whole-genome sequencing analyses reveal global enhancer hypomethylation in human HCCs. Integrative epigenomic characterization further pinpoints a recurrent hypomethylated enhancer of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-beta (C/EBPβ) which correlates with C/EBPβ over-expression and poorer prognosis of patients.

An inflammatory-CCRK circuitry drives mTORC1-dependent metabolic and immunosuppressive reprogramming in obesity-associated hepatocellular carcinoma.

Obesity increases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) especially in men, but the molecular mechanism remains obscure. Here, we show that an androgen receptor (AR)-driven oncogene, cell cycle-related kinase (CCRK), collaborates with obesity-induced pro-inflammatory signaling to promote non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-related hepatocarcinogenesis. Lentivirus-mediated Ccrk ablation in liver of male mice fed with high-fat high-carbohydrate diet abrogates not only obesity-associated lipid accumulation, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance, but also HCC development.

Pattern of disease recurrence and its implications for postoperative surveillance after curative hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma: experience from a single center.

Background: Hepatectomy is a widely accepted curative treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the disease frequently recurs after a curative hepatectomy. The objective of this study is to provide a better understanding of the pattern of disease recurrence and the risk factors involved so as to improve the postoperative surveillance.

Novel biomarkers GEP/ABCB5 regulate response to adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization after curative hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the most commonly used adjuvant therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative resection. Responses to TACE are variable due to tumor and patient heterogeneity. We had previously demonstrated that expression of Granulin-epithelin precursor (GEP) and ATP-dependent binding cassette (ABC)B5 in liver cancer stem cells was associated with chemoresistance.

Successful robotic extirpation of diaphragmatic seeding of hepatocellular carcinoma after previous rupture.

A 51-year-old man who was a hepatitis B carrier presented with ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Hepatic arterial embolization was performed for control of bleeding which was followed by staged open left lateral sectionectomy for tumor removal. Pathology confirmed a 3.

Loss of tumor suppressor IGFBP4 drives epigenetic reprogramming in hepatic carcinogenesis.

Genomic sequencing of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) uncovers a paucity of actionable mutations, underscoring the necessity to exploit epigenetic vulnerabilities for therapeutics. In HCC, EZH2-mediated H3K27me3 represents a major oncogenic chromatin modification, but how it modulates the therapeutic vulnerability of signaling pathways remains unknown. Here, we show EZH2 acts antagonistically to AKT signaling in maintaining H3K27 methylome through epigenetic silencing of IGFBP4.

The CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF)-forkhead box protein M1 axis regulates tumour growth and metastasis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) is a DNA-binding protein that interacts with a large number of highly divergent target sequences throughout the genome. It is implicated in a variety of functions, including chromatin organization and transcriptional control. The functional role of CTCF in tumour pathogenesis remains elusive.

Liver stiffness measurement predicts high-grade post-hepatectomy liver failure: A prospective cohort study.

Background And Aim: Liver stiffness measurement using transient elastography appears to be an excellent tool for detection of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis with high accuracy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of preoperative liver stiffness measurement in predicting post-hepatectomy liver failure.

Methods: A prospective cohort study of all consecutive patients undergoing hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma from February 2010 to August 2014 was studied.

Long-term outcomes of microwave versus radiofrequency ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma by surgical approach: A retrospective comparative study.

Background: Both microwave ablation (MWA) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) are commonly employed local ablation techniques for malignant liver tumors. However, comparative data on long-term results between these two techniques is scarce in the literature.

Methods: This is a retrospective comparative study between MWA and RFA for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using surgical approach.

Laparoscopic and robotic hepatectomy: experience from a single centre.

Background: Both laparoscopic and robotic hepatectomy have been adopted in our centre for selected patients with benign or malignant liver diseases. This article reports the perioperative outcomes of these two approaches and tries to determine any difference between them.

Methods: A retrospective review of prospectively collected data was performed for all patients who underwent laparoscopic hepatectomy (LH) and robotic hepatectomy (RH) in our institute.

Albumin-to-alkaline phosphatase ratio: a novel prognostic index for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) depends on both tumour extent and hepatic function reserve. Liver function test (LFT) is a basic routine blood test to evaluate hepatic function. We first analysed LFT components and their associated scores in a training cohort of 217 patients who underwent curative surgery to identify LFT parameters with high performance (discriminatory capacity, homogeneity, and monotonicity of gradient).

A CCRK-EZH2 epigenetic circuitry drives hepatocarcinogenesis and associates with tumor recurrence and poor survival of patients.

Background & Aims: Aberrant chromatin modification is a key feature of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is characterized by strong sexual dimorphism. Both enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) and cell cycle-related kinase (CCRK) contribute to hepatocarcinogenesis, yet whether the two oncogenic factors have functional crosstalk is unknown.

Methods: Cellular proliferation and tumorigenicity upon transgenic expression and RNA interference were determined by colony formation and soft agar assays, xenograft, orthotopic and diethylnitrosamine-induced HCC models.

Factors associated with failure of enhanced recovery protocol in patients undergoing major hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery: a retrospective cohort study.

Objective: This study examined the risk factors associated with failure of enhanced recovery protocol after major hepatobiliary and pancreatic (HBP) surgery.

Setting And Participants: A retrospective cohort of 194 adult patients undergoing major HBP surgery at a university hospital in Hong Kong was followed up for 30 days. The patients were from a larger cohort study of 736 consecutive adults with preoperative urinary cotinine concentration to examine the association between passive smoking and risk of perioperative respiratory complications and postoperative morbidities.

Cell cycle-related kinase mediates viral-host signalling to promote hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocarcinogenesis.

Background: Androgen receptor (AR) signalling contributes to male predominance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is more pronounced in HBV-endemic areas. Cell cycle-related kinase (CCRK) is essential for AR-induced hepatocarcinogenesis but its molecular function in HBV-associated HCC remains obscure.

Objective: To determine the molecular function of CCRK in HBV-associated HCC.

Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation versus surgical radiofrequency ablation for malignant liver tumours: the long-term results.

Background: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has been used to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver metastases for more than 10 years with promising early outcomes. Preliminary results comparing percutaneous and surgical approaches have shown no difference in short-term outcomes. In this study, the longer-term outcomes were presented.

SIRT2 overexpression in hepatocellular carcinoma mediates epithelial to mesenchymal transition by protein kinase B/glycogen synthase kinase-3β/β-catenin signaling.

Unlabelled: Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) has been implicated in telomere maintenance and the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Nevertheless, the role of other sirtuins in the pathogenesis of HCC remains elusive. We found that sirtuin 2 (SIRT2), another member of the sirtuin family, also contributes to cell motility and invasiveness of HCC.

Full-length Mst1 exhibits growth promoting function in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

The putative tumor suppressor Mst1, when cleaved to its 36kDa cleaved form, amplifies apoptotic signals. We found that Mst1 was predominantly expressed in its full-length form in 76% (17/25 cases) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumors. Mst1 cleavage was basically absent in HCC cells.

Liver stiffness measurement by transient elastography as a predictor on posthepatectomy outcomes.

Background: Liver fibrosis and cirrhosis are well-known risk factors for morbidity after hepatectomy. Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) using transient elastography is a new method for detection of hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis with high accuracy. Whether LSM can predict posthepatectomy outcomes has not been studied.

Comparison of postoperative pain between single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy and conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy: prospective case-control study.

Background: Single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SILC) is an emerging technique used in cholecystectomy. Nevertheless, studies on the difference in postoperative pain between SILC and conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy are lacking in the literature.

Patient And Methods: From August 2009 to July 2010, 20 consecutive patients who underwent SILC (SILC group) were compared with a prospective cohort of 20 patients who underwent conventional 4-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC group) during the same period.

Long-term results of laparoscopic hepatectomy versus open hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma: a case-matched analysis.

Background: Laparoscopic hepatectomy (LH) is established as a safe and feasible treatment option for liver tumors. However, whether the adoption of laparoscopic approach for malignant tumors, such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), will compromise the long-term result is still unknown. This study was designed to evaluate the long-term results of LH compared with a cohort of case-matched open hepatectomy (OH).

Modification of right hepatectomy results in improvement outcome: a retrospective comparative study.

Objective: To evaluate any change in the operative and survival outcomes in patients undergoing a right hepatectomy after adoption of the no-clamp technique using a radiofrequency dissecting sealer (TissueLink™) in liver resection.

Methods: In all, 58 consecutive patients who underwent a right hepatectomy from July 2003 to December 2007 (Group 1) were compared with 66 consecutive patients who underwent a right hepatectomy from January 1999 to June 2003 (Group 2). In group 1, a liver transection was performed with a cavitron ultrasonic surgical aspirator (CUSA) and TissueLink™ without hilar clamping whereas in group 2, a liver transection was performed with CUSA and diathermy with routine continuous hilar clamping.