Multifaceted roles of lymphatic and blood endothelial cells in the tumor microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma:A comprehensive review

The tumor microenvironment is a complex network of cells,extracellular matrix,and signaling molecules that plays a critical role in tumor progression and metastasis.Lymphatic and blood vessels are major routes for solid tumor metastasis and essential parts of tumor drainage conduits.However,recent studies have shown that lymphatic endothelial cells(LECs)and blood endothelial cells(BECs)also play multifaceted roles in the tumor microenvironment beyond their structural functions,particularly in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).This comprehensive review summarizes the diverse roles played by LECs and BECs in HCC,including their involvement in angiogenesis,immune modulation,lymphangiogenesis,and metastasis.By providing a detailed account of the complex interplay between LECs,BECs,and tumor cells,this review aims to shed light on future research directions regarding the immune regulatory function of LECs and potential therapeutic targets for HCC.

Two case reports and literature review for hepatic epithelioid angiomyolipoma: Pitfall of misdiagnosis

BACKGROUND Hepatic epithelioid angiomyolipoma(HEAML) is a rare liver disease and is easily misdiagnosed. Enhanced recognition of HEAML is beneficial to the differential diagnosis of rare liver diseases.CASE SUMMARY We presented two cases of HEAML in Changzheng Hospital, Naval Medical University, and then collected and analyzed all reports about HEAML recorded in PubMed, MEDLINE, China Science Periodical Database, and VIP database from January 2000 to March 2018. A total of 409 cases of HEAML in 97 reports were collected, with a ratio of men to women of 1:4.84 and an age range from 12 years to 80 years(median 44 years). Among the patients with clinical symptoms mentioned, 61.93%(205/331) were asymptomatic, 34.74%(115/331) showed upper or right upper quadrant abdomen discomfort, while a few of them showed abdominal mass, gastrointestinal symptoms, low fever, or weight loss. The misdiagnosis rate of HEAML was as high as 40.34%(165/409) due to its nonspecific imaging findings. Most of the tumors were solitary and round in morphology, with clear boundaries. Ultrasound scan indicated low echo with internal nonuniformity and rich blood supply in most cases. Computer tomography/magnetic resonance imaging enhanced scan showed varied characteristics. The ratio of fast wash-in and fast wash-out, fast wash-in and slow wash-out, and delayed enhancement was roughly 4:5:1. A definite diagnosis of HEAML depended on the pathological findings of the epithelioid cells in lesions and the expression of human melanoma black 45, smooth muscle actin,melanoma antigen, and actin by immunohistochemical staining. HEAML had a relatively low malignant rate of 3.91%. However, surgical resection was the main treatment for HEAML, due to the difficulty diagnosing before operation.CONCLUSION HEAML is a rare and easily misdiagnosed disease, and it should be diagnosed carefully, taking into account clinical course, imaging, pathological,and immunohistochemical findings.

Two-in-one:A pooled analysis of primary hepatic neuroendocrine carcinoma combine d/collide d with hepatocellular carcinoma

To the Editor:Primary hepatic neuroendocrine carcinoma(PHNEC)combined/collided with hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is a rare and intriguing disease with characteristics of two histologically different cancers.Usually,a combined type refers to the cases in which hepatic neuroendocrine carcinoma(HNEC)and HCC components intermingle with each other and cannot be clearly separated in the transitional areas,while a collision type refers to those in which the two distinct cancers occurred simultaneously and independently.Sometimes it is difficult to readily distinguish these two types.We searched PubMed,Medline,China Science Periodical Database,and VIP Database with the publication from January 1980 to January 2019,using the keywords(“hepatic neuroendocrine carcinoma”or“HNEC”)and(“hepatocellular carcinoma”or“HCC”).After manually excluding records on secondary HNEC and other types of liver cancer,a total of 28 cases in 24 reports[1–24]were identified and summarized in Table 1.

Primary hepatic squamous cell carcinoma with abdominal incision metastasis after hepatectomy

To the Editor:Primary hepatic squamous cell carcinoma(PHSCC)is a rare and easily misdiagnosed disease.We reported a PHSCC case with abdominal incision metastasis after hepatectomy,and reviewed the clinical course,imaging,pathology and immunohistochemical findings.Our case may provide a better understanding of PHSCC.

Immunometabolic inflammation and hepatocellular carcinoma

To the Editor: Inflammation-cancer transformation and metabolomics are hot topics in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Cancer-related inflammation and anti-cancer immunity co-exist in cancer progression and the microenvironmental conditions dictate the direction [1].