Aberrant Metabolism in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Provides Diagnostic and Therapeutic Opportunities

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for over 80% of liver cancer cases and is highly malignant, recurrent, drug-resistant, and often diagnosed in the advanced stage. It is clear that early diagnosis and a better understanding of molecular mechanisms contributing to HCC progression is clinically...

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Published in:Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity 2018-01, Vol.2018 (2018), p.1-13
Main Authors: Giudetti, Anna M., Gardini, Andrea C., De Domenico, Stefania, Marisi, Giorgia, Ragusa, Andrea, De Matteis, Serena, Bonafè, Massimiliano
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino acids
Biosynthesis
Dehydrogenases
Dextrose
Diabetes
Diagnosis
Enzymes
Gene expression
Genomes
Glucose
Health aspects
Hepatitis
Hepatoma
Kinases
Liver
Liver cancer
Liver diseases
Medical prognosis
Metabolism
Metabolites
Mitochondrial DNA
Phosphorylation
Physiological aspects
Physiology
Proteins
Review
Tumorigenesis
Tumors
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Summary:Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for over 80% of liver cancer cases and is highly malignant, recurrent, drug-resistant, and often diagnosed in the advanced stage. It is clear that early diagnosis and a better understanding of molecular mechanisms contributing to HCC progression is clinically urgent. Metabolic alterations clearly characterize HCC tumors. Numerous clinical parameters currently used to assess liver functions reflect changes in both enzyme activity and metabolites. Indeed, differences in glucose and acetate utilization are used as a valid clinical tool for stratifying patients with HCC. Moreover, increased serum lactate can distinguish HCC from normal subjects, and serum lactate dehydrogenase is used as a prognostic indicator for HCC patients under therapy. Currently, the emerging field of metabolomics that allows metabolite analysis in biological fluids is a powerful method for discovering new biomarkers. Several metabolic targets have been identified by metabolomics approaches, and these could be used as biomarkers in HCC. Moreover, the integration of different omics approaches could provide useful information on the metabolic pathways at the systems level. In this review, we provided an overview of the metabolic characteristics of HCC considering also the reciprocal influences between the metabolism of cancer cells and their microenvironment. Moreover, we also highlighted the interaction between hepatic metabolite production and their serum revelations through metabolomics researches.
ISSN:1942-0900
1942-0994
DOI:10.1155/2018/7512159