Hepatitis B and C virus hepatocarcinogenesis: Lessons learned and future challenges

Michael J. Boucharda, Sonia Navas-Martinb1

Received 12 August 2010; received in revised form 15 November 2010;
accepted 25 November 2010.
published online 20 December 2010.
Corrected Proof

Abstract

Worldwide, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers. It is thought that 80% of hepatocellular carcinomas are linked to chronic infections with the hepatitis B (HBV) or hepatitis C (HCV) viruses.

Chronic HBV and HCV infections can alter hepatocyte physiology in similar ways and may utilize similar mechanisms to influence the development of HCC. There has been significant progress towards understanding the molecular biology of HBV and HCV and identifying the cellular signal transduction pathways that are altered by HBV and HCV infections.

Although the precise molecular mechanisms that link HBV and HCV infections to the development of HCC are not entirely understood, there is considerable evidence that both inflammatory responses to infections with these viruses, and associated destruction and regeneration of hepatocytes, as well as activities of HBV- or HCV-encoded proteins, contribute to hepatocyte transformation.

In this review, we summarize progress in defining mechanisms that may link HBV and HCV infections to the development of HCC, discuss the challenges of directly defining the processes that underlie HBV- and HCV-associated HCC, and describe areas that remain to be explored.


a Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
b Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Center for Molecular Virology and Translational Neuroscience, Institute for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA

Corresponding author. Address: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Drexel University College of Medicine, 245N. 15th Street, MS 497, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA. Tel.: +1 215 762 1898; fax: +1 215 762 4452.
1 Address: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Drexel University College of Medicine, 245N. 15th Street, MS1013A, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA. Tel.: +1 215 762 7284; fax: +1 215 762 8284.

PII: S0304-3835(10)00549-5
doi:10.1016/j.canlet.2010.11.014
© 2010 Published by Elsevier Inc.