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Query: UMLS:C0345904 (liver cancer)
 15,188 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The positive surgical margins are associated with postsurgical recurrence in hepatocellular carcinoma patients, and molecular margin analysis is considered more sensitive in detecting preneoplastic lesions than conventional histological margin examination. To evaluate the feasibility of methylation-based molecular margin analysis in HCC and explore its clinical application, we investigated CDKN2A methylation status in the surgical margins of 20 HCC patients using a nested BS-MSP protocol and compared the methylation patterns in resection margins with those in the corresponding tumor and adjacent nonmalignant tissues. The results showed that a considerable frequency (35%, 7 of 20) of CDKN2A methylation was present in histologically negative margins, and methylation pattern analysis might be valuable for studying the cellular origin of recurrent carcinoma. Therefore, methylation-based molecular surgical margin analysis offers a promising tool in prognosis for HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy.
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PMID:Methylation-based molecular margin analysis in hepatocellular carcinoma. 1626 33

In eukaryotic cells, DNA is packaged into chromatin and this compact storage in the nucleus promotes transcriptional repression of genes. Chromatin remodeling complexes such as the SWI/SNF complex are involved in making DNA accessible to transcription factors and thereby are implicated in the regulation of gene expression. Mutations and altered expression of chromatin remodeling complex genes have been described in cancer cells. Indeed, non-small cell lung cancer cell lines have been shown to harbor mutations in SMARCA4 (BRG1), a member of the SWI/SNF complex, but evidence has been less clear in primary tumors. Recently, inactivating mutations in AT-rich interaction domain 2 (ARID2) were found in liver cancer related to HCV infection and in melanoma. Here, we explored, using a genome-wide strategy and subsequent sequencing of targeted genes, whether chromatin remodeling is implicated in primary lung adenocarcinoma. Two genes were individualized from the genome screening as homozygously deleted in a set of samples: JARID2 and ARID2. Subsequent analysis of the entire coding sequences showed that ARID2 loss-of-function mutations were found in 5% of nonsmall cell lung cancers, thereby constituting one of the most frequently mutated genes in this cancer type after TP53, KRAS, EGFR, CDKN2A and STK11.
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PMID:Recurrent inactivating mutations of ARID2 in non-small cell lung carcinoma. 2304 6

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents a major form of primary liver cancer in adults. Chronic infections with hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) viruses and alcohol abuse are the major factors leading to HCC. This deadly cancer affects more than 500,000 people worldwide and it is quite resistant to conventional chemo- and radiotherapy. Genetic and epigenetic studies on HCC may help to understand better its mechanisms and provide new tools for early diagnosis and therapy. Recent literature on whole genome analysis of HCC indicated a high number of mutated genes in addition to well-known genes such as TP53, CTNNB1, AXIN1 and CDKN2A, but their frequencies are much lower. Apart from CTNNB1 mutations, most of the other mutations appear to result in loss-of-function. Thus, HCC-associated mutations cannot be easily targeted for therapy. Epigenetic aberrations that appear to occur quite frequently may serve as new targets. Global DNA hypomethylation, promoter methylation, aberrant expression of non-coding RNAs and dysregulated expression of other epigenetic regulatory genes such as EZH2 are the best-known epigenetic abnormalities. Future research in this direction may help to identify novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for HCC.
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PMID:Genetics and epigenetics of liver cancer. 2339 71

Liver cancer, which is most often associated with virus infection, is prevalent worldwide, and its underlying etiology and genomic structure are heterogeneous. Here we provide a whole-genome landscape of somatic alterations in 300 liver cancers from Japanese individuals. Our comprehensive analysis identified point mutations, structural variations (STVs), and virus integrations, in noncoding and coding regions. We discovered mutational signatures related to liver carcinogenesis and recurrently mutated coding and noncoding regions, such as long intergenic noncoding RNA genes (NEAT1 and MALAT1), promoters, CTCF-binding sites, and regulatory regions. STV analysis found a significant association with replication timing and identified known (CDKN2A, CCND1, APC, and TERT) and new (ASH1L, NCOR1, and MACROD2) cancer-related genes that were recurrently affected by STVs, leading to altered expression. These results emphasize the value of whole-genome sequencing analysis in discovering cancer driver mutations and understanding comprehensive molecular profiles of liver cancer, especially with regard to STVs and noncoding mutations.
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PMID:Whole-genome mutational landscape and characterization of noncoding and structural mutations in liver cancer. 2842 13

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of primary liver cancer, is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. It is highly refractory to most systemic therapies. Recently, significant progress has been made in uncovering genomic alterations in HCC, including potentially targetable aberrations. The most common molecular anomalies in this malignancy are mutations in the TERT promoter, TP53, CTNNB1, AXIN1, ARID1A, CDKN2A and CCND1 genes. PTEN loss at the protein level is also frequent. Genomic portfolios stratify by risk factors as follows: (i) CTNNB1 with alcoholic cirrhosis; and (ii) TP53 with hepatitis B virus-induced cirrhosis. Activating mutations in CTNNB1 and inactivating mutations in AXIN1 both activate WNT signaling. Alterations in this pathway, as well as in TP53 and the cell cycle machinery, and in the PI3K/Akt/mTor axis (the latter activated in the presence of PTEN loss), as well as aberrant angiogenesis and epigenetic anomalies, appear to be major events in HCC. Many of these abnormalities may be pharmacologically tractable. Immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors is also emerging as an important treatment option. Indeed, 82% of patients express PD-L1 (immunohistochemistry) and response rates to anti-PD-1 treatment are about 19%, and include about 5% complete remissions as well as durable benefit in some patients. Biomarker-matched trials are still limited in this disease, and many of the genomic alterations in HCC remain challenging to target. Future studies may require combination regimens that include both immunotherapies and molecularly matched targeted treatments.
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PMID:The biology of Hepatocellular carcinoma: implications for genomic and immune therapies. 2885 42