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Biomedicines
Special Issues
Liver Cancer: From Molecular Mechanism to Therapeutic Perspectives
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Liver Cancer: From Molecular Mechanism to Therapeutic Perspectives

A special issue of Biomedicines (ISSN 2227-9059). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Biology and Oncology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 8125

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Tudor Mocan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, "Prof. Dr. Octavian Fodor", University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Iuliu Hatieganu", Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Interests: liver cancer; HCC; CCA; tumor ablation; tumor biopsy; immunotherapy
Dr. Miroslaw Kornek

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Internal Medicine I, University Bonn, Venusberg Campus 1, 53127 Bonn, Germany
Interests: hepatology; liver diseases; HCC; extracellular vesicles; exosomes; microvesicles
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Zeno Spârchez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, "Prof. Dr. Octavian Fodor", University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Iuliu Hatieganu", Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Interests: liver cancer; thermal ablation; minimal invasive therapies; interventional ultrasound; liver cirrhosis; pancreatistis; biliary cancers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Considering the high volume of data emerging from articles regarding liver cancer patients, we are delighted to announce our upcoming Special Issue entitled “Liver cancer: from molecular mechanisms to therapeutic perspectives”. Modern cancer medicine is shifting its perspectives from a “one drug fits all” standpoint to an individualized approach, centered on the analysis of the cellular mechanisms involved in cancer development, such as evaluating the tumor microenvironment, investigating the immune cell composition, or finding new biomarkers. These studies established new molecular targets for different drug therapies which improved overall survival in hepatocellular carcinoma or cholangiocarcinoma; however, liver cancer still remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Undoubtedly, there is a need for a thorough understanding of the mechanisms leading to disease progression and treatment resistance, in order to decrease its global burden. This Special Issues aims to cover both preclinical and clinical studies regarding cellular signaling pathways, experimental models for liver cancer, molecular targets, diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers, and novel therapies. We are confident that our research efforts will provide novel insights into the marked heterogeneity of this type of cancer, while concurrently offer new solutions for precision treatment.

Dr. Tudor Mocan
Dr. Miroslaw Kornek
Dr. Zeno Spârchez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomedicines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • liver cancer
  • HCC
  • CCA
  • heterogeneity
  • immunotherapy
  • treatment
  • prognosis
  • diagnosis

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 4776 KiB  
Article
Activated Natural Killer Cell Inoculation Alleviates Fibrotic Liver Pathology in a Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Liver Cirrhosis Mouse Model
by Ho Rim Oh, Min Kyung Ko, Daehee Son, Young Wook Ki, Shin-Il Kim, Seok-Yong Lee, Keon Wook Kang, Gi Jeong Cheon, Do Won Hwang and Hyewon Youn
Biomedicines 2023, 11(4), 1090; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11041090 - 04 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2020
Abstract
Activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) play a detrimental role in liver fibrosis progression. Natural killer (NK) cells are known to selectively recognize abnormal or transformed cells via their receptor activation and induce target cell apoptosis and, therefore, can be used as a potential [...] Read more.
Activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) play a detrimental role in liver fibrosis progression. Natural killer (NK) cells are known to selectively recognize abnormal or transformed cells via their receptor activation and induce target cell apoptosis and, therefore, can be used as a potential therapeutic strategy for liver cirrhosis. In this study, we examined the therapeutic effects of NK cells in the carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver cirrhosis mouse model. NK cells were isolated from the mouse spleen and expanded in the cytokine-stimulated culture medium. Natural killer group 2, member D (NKG2D)-positive NK cells were significantly increased after a week of expansion in culture. The intravenous injection of NK cells significantly alleviated liver cirrhosis by reducing collagen deposition, HSC marker activation, and macrophage infiltration. For in vivo imaging, NK cells were isolated from codon-optimized luciferase-expressing transgenic mice. Luciferase-expressing NK cells were expanded, activated and administrated to the mouse model to track them. Bioluminescence images showed increased accumulation of the intravenously inoculated NK cells in the cirrhotic liver of the recipient mouse. In addition, we conducted QuantSeq 3′ mRNA sequencing-based transcriptomic analysis. From the transcriptomic analysis, 33 downregulated genes in the extracellular matrix (ECM) and 41 downregulated genes involved in the inflammatory response were observed in the NK cell-treated cirrhotic liver tissues from the 1532 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). This result indicated that the repetitive administration of NK cells alleviated the pathology of liver fibrosis in the CCl4-induced liver cirrhosis mouse model via anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Taken together, our research demonstrated that NK cells could have therapeutic effects in a CCl4-induced liver cirrhosis mouse model. In particular, it was elucidated that extracellular matrix genes and inflammatory response genes, which were mainly affected after NK cell treatment, could be potential targets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Liver Cancer: From Molecular Mechanism to Therapeutic Perspectives)
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23 pages, 4159 KiB  
Article
Detection of Liver Tumour Using Deep Learning Based Segmentation with Coot Extreme Learning Model
by Kalaivani Sridhar, Kavitha C, Wen-Cheng Lai and Balasubramanian Prabhu Kavin
Biomedicines 2023, 11(3), 800; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11030800 - 06 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2398
Abstract
Systems for medical analytics and decision making that make use of multimodal intelligence are of critical importance in the field of healthcare. Liver cancer is one of the most frequent types of cancer and early identification of it is crucial for effective therapy. [...] Read more.
Systems for medical analytics and decision making that make use of multimodal intelligence are of critical importance in the field of healthcare. Liver cancer is one of the most frequent types of cancer and early identification of it is crucial for effective therapy. Liver tumours share the same brightness and contrast characteristics as their surrounding tissues. Likewise, irregular tumour shapes are a serious concern that varies with cancer stage and tumour kind. There are two main phases of tumour segmentation in the liver: identifying the liver, and then segmenting the tumour itself. Conventional interactive segmentation approaches, however, necessitate a high number of intensity levels, whereas recently projected CNN-based interactive segmentation approaches are constrained by low presentation on liver tumour images. This research provides a unique deep Learning based Segmentation with Coot Extreme Learning Model approach that shows high efficiency in results and also detects tumours from the publicly available data of liver images. Specifically, the study processes the initial segmentation with a small number of additional users clicks to generate an improved segmentation by incorporating inner boundary points through the proposed geodesic distance encoding method. Finally, classification is carried out using an Extreme Learning Model, with the classifier’s parameters having been ideally chosen by means of the Coot Optimization algorithm (COA). On the 3D-IRCADb1 dataset, the research evaluates the segmentation quality metrics DICE and accuracy, finding improvements over approaches in together liver-coloured and tumour separation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Liver Cancer: From Molecular Mechanism to Therapeutic Perspectives)
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Review

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20 pages, 2009 KiB  
Review
Interleukin-6 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Dualistic Point of View
by Iuliana Nenu, Teodora Maria Toadere, Ioan Topor, Andra Țichindeleanu, Daniela Andreea Bondor, Șerban Ellias Trella, Zeno Sparchez and Gabriela Adriana Filip
Biomedicines 2023, 11(10), 2623; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11102623 - 24 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1950
Abstract
Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is a pressing health concern, demanding a deep understanding of various mediators’ roles in its development for therapeutic progress. Notably, interleukin-6 (IL-6) has taken center stage in investigations due to its intricate and context-dependent functions. This review delves into the [...] Read more.
Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is a pressing health concern, demanding a deep understanding of various mediators’ roles in its development for therapeutic progress. Notably, interleukin-6 (IL-6) has taken center stage in investigations due to its intricate and context-dependent functions. This review delves into the dual nature of IL-6 in HCC, exploring its seemingly contradictory roles as both a promoter and an inhibitor of disease progression. We dissect the pro-tumorigenic effects of IL-6, including its impact on tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Concurrently, we examine its anti-tumorigenic attributes, such as its role in immune response activation, cellular senescence induction, and tumor surveillance. Through a comprehensive exploration of the intricate interactions between IL-6 and the tumor microenvironment, this review highlights the need for a nuanced comprehension of IL-6 signaling in HCC. It underscores the importance of tailored therapeutic strategies that consider the dynamic stages and diverse surroundings within the tumor microenvironment. Future research directions aimed at unraveling the multifaceted mechanisms of IL-6 in HCC hold promise for developing more effective treatment strategies and improving patient outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Liver Cancer: From Molecular Mechanism to Therapeutic Perspectives)
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15 pages, 496 KiB  
Review
Refining Liver Biopsy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: An In-Depth Exploration of Shifting Diagnostic and Therapeutic Applications
by Zeno Spârchez, Rareș Crăciun, Iuliana Nenu, Lavinia Patricia Mocan, Mihaela Spârchez and Tudor Mocan
Biomedicines 2023, 11(8), 2324; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11082324 - 21 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1161
Abstract
The field of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has faced significant change on multiple levels in the past few years. The increasing emphasis on the various HCC phenotypes and the emergence of novel, specific therapies have slowly paved the way for a personalized approach to [...] Read more.
The field of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has faced significant change on multiple levels in the past few years. The increasing emphasis on the various HCC phenotypes and the emergence of novel, specific therapies have slowly paved the way for a personalized approach to primary liver cancer. In this light, the role of percutaneous liver biopsy of focal lesions has shifted from a purely confirmatory method to a technique capable of providing an in-depth characterization of any nodule. Cancer subtype, gene expression, the mutational profile, and tissue biomarkers might soon become widely available through biopsy. However, indications, expectations, and techniques might suffer changes as the aim of the biopsy evolves from providing minimal proof of the disease to high-quality specimens for extensive analysis. Consequently, a revamped position of tissue biopsy is expected in HCC, following the reign of non-invasive imaging-only diagnosis. Moreover, given the advances in techniques that have recently reached the spotlight, such as liquid biopsy, concomitant use of all the available methods might gather just enough data to improve therapy selection and, ultimately, outcomes. The current review aims to discuss the changing role of liver biopsy and provide an evidence-based rationale for its use in the era of precision medicine in HCC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Liver Cancer: From Molecular Mechanism to Therapeutic Perspectives)
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