Genetic screening of liver cancer:State of the art

Liver cancer,primarily hepatocellular carcinoma,remains a global health challenge with rising incidence and limited therapeutic options.Genetic factors play a pivotal role in the development and progression of liver cancer.This state-of-the-art paper provides a comprehensive review of the current landscape of genetic screening strategies for liver cancer.We discuss the genetic underpinnings of liver cancer,emphasizing the critical role of risk-associated genetic variants,somatic mutations,and epigenetic alterations.We also explore the intricate interplay between environmental factors and genetics,highlighting how genetic screening can aid in risk stratification and early detection via using liquid biopsy,and advancements in high-throughput sequencing technologies.By synthesizing the latest research findings,we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art genetic screening methods for liver cancer,shedding light on their potential to revolutionize early detection,risk assessment,and targeted therapies in the fight against this devastating disease.

Genetic Variations and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease:Field Synopsis,Systematic Meta-Analysis,and Epidemiological Evidence

Objective To systematically summarize the published literature on the genetic variants associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD).Methods Literature from Web of Science,PubMed,and Embase between January 1980 and September 2022 was systematically searched.Meta-analyses of the genetic variants were conducted using at least five data sources.The epidemiologic credibility of the significant associations was graded using the Venice criteria.Results Based on literature screening,399 eligible studies were included,comprising 381 candidate gene association,16 genome-wide association,and 2 whole-exome sequencing studies.We identified 465 genetic variants in 173 genes in candidate gene association studies,and 25 genetic variants in 17 genes were included in the meta-analysis.The meta-analysis identified 11 variants in 10 genes that were significantly associated with NAFLD,with cumulative epidemiological evidence of an association graded as strong for two variants in two genes(HFE,TNF),moderate for four variants in three genes(TM6SF2,GCKR,and ADIPOQ),and weak for five variants in five genes(MBOAT7,PEMT,PNPLA3,LEPR,and MTHFR).Conclusion This study identified six variants in five genes that had moderate to strong evidence of an association with NAFLD,which may help understand the genetic architecture of NAFLD risk.

Toxicity of targeted anticancer treatments on the liver in myeloproliferative neoplasms

The liver has a central role in metabolism,therefore,it is susceptible to harmful effects of ingested medications(drugs,herbs,and nutritional supplements).Druginduced liver injury(DILI)comprises a range of unexpected reactions that occur after exposure to various classes of medication.Even though most cases consist of mild,temporary elevations in liver enzyme markers,DILI can also manifest as acute liver failure in some patients and can be associated with mortality.Herein,we briefly review available data on DILI induced by targeted anticancer agents in managing classical myeloproliferative neoplasms:Chronic myeloid leukemia,polycythemia vera,essential thrombocythemia,and myelofibrosis.

Neoplastic disease after liver transplantation: focus on de novo neoplasms

De novo neoplasms account for almost 30% of deaths 10 years after liver transplantation and are the most common cause of mortality in patients surviving at least 1 year after transplant. The risk of malignancy is two to four times higher in transplant recipients than in an age- and sex-matched population, and cancer is expected to surpass cardiovascular complications as the primary cause of death in transplanted patients within the next 2 decades. Since exposure to immunosuppression is associated with an increased frequency of developing neoplasm, long-term immunosuppression should be therefore minimized. Promising results in the prevention of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) recurrence have been reported with the use of m TOR inhibitors including everolimus and sirolimus and the ongoing open-label prospective randomized controlled SILVER. Study will provide more information on whether sirolimus-containing vs m TOR-inhibitorfree immunosuppression is more efficacious in reducing HCC recurrence.

Liver transplantation as an alternative for the treatment of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: Past, present, and future directions

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma(iCCA)is a rare biliary tract cancer with high mortality rate.Complete resection of the iCCA lesion is the first choice of treatment,with good prognosis after margin-negative resection.Unfortunately,only 12%-40% of patients are eligible for resection at presentation due to cirrhosis,portal hypertension,or large tumor size.Liver transplantation(LT)offers margin-negative iCCA extirpation for patients with unresectable tumors.Initially,iCCA was a contraindication for LT until size-based selection criteria were introduced to identify patients with satisfied post-LT outcomes.Recent studies have shown that tumor biology-based selection can yield high post-LT survival in patients with locally advanced iCCA.Another selection criterion is the tumor response to neoadjuvant therapy.Patients with response to neoadjuvant therapy have better outcomes after LT compared with those without tumor response to neoadjuvant therapy.Another index that helps predict the treatment outcome is the biomarker.Improved survival outcomes have also opened the door for living donor LT for iCCA.Patients undergoing LT for iCCA now have statistically similar survival rates as patients undergoing resection.The combination of surgery and locoregional and systemic therapies improves the prognosis of iCCA patients.

Neuroendocrine neoplasms of liver-A 5-year retrospective clinico-pathological study applying World Health Organization 2010 classification

AIM To study the clinicopathological characteristics of neuroendocrine neoplasms(NEN) on liver samples and apply World Health Organization(WHO) 2010 grading of gastroenteropancreatic(GEP) NEN.METHODS Clinicopathological features of 79 cases of NEN of the liver diagnosed between January 2011 to December 2015 were analyzed. WHO 2010 classification of GEP NEN was applied and the tumors were graded as G1, G2 or G3. Two more categories, D1/2(discordant 1/2) and D2/3(discordant 2/3) were also applied. The D1/2 grade tumors had a mitotic count of G1 and Ki-67 index of G2. The D2/3 tumors had a mitotic count of G2 and Ki-67 index of G3. The follow up details which were available till the end of the study period(December 2015) were collected.RESULTS Of the 79 tumors, 16 each were G1 and G2, and 18 were G3 tumors. Of the remaining 29 tumors, 13 were assigned to D1/2 and 16 were D2/3 grade. Male preponderance was noted in all tumors except for G2 neoplasms, which showed a slight female predilection. The median age at presentation was 47 years(range 10-82 years). The most common presentation was abdominal pain(81%). Pancreas(49%) was the most common site of primary followed by gastrointestinal tract(24.4%) and lungs(18%). Radiologically, 87% of the patients had multiple liver lesions. Histopathologically, necrosis was seen in only D2/3 and G3 tumors. Microvascular invasion was seen in all grades. Metastasis occurred in all grades of primary NEN and the grades of the metastatic tumors and their corresponding primary tumors were similar in 67% of the cases. Of the 79 patients, 36 had at least one follow up visit with a median duration of follow up of 8.5 mo(range: 1-50 mo). This study did not show any impact of the grade of tumor on the short term clinical outcome of these patients.CONCLUSION Liver biopsy is an important tool for clinicopathological characterization and grading of NEN, especially when the primary is not identified. Eighty-seven percent of the patients had multifocal liver lesions irrespective of the WHO grade, indicating a higher stage of disease at presentation. Follow up duration was inadequate to derive any meaningful conclusion on long term outcome in our study patients.

Liver transplantation as an alternative for the treatment of perihilar cholangiocarcinoma: A critical review

Background:Perihilar cholangiocarcinoma(phCCC)is a dismal malignancy.There is no consensus regard-ing the best treatment for patients with unresectable phCCC.The present review aimed to gather the current pieces of evidence for liver transplantation and liver resection as a treatment for phCCC and to build better guidance for clinical practice.Data sources:The search was conducted in PubMed,Embase,Cochrane,and LILACS.The related references were searched manually.Inclusion criteria were:reports in English or Portuguese literature that a)patients with confirmed diagnosis of phCCC;b)patients treated with a curative intent;c)patients with the outcomes of liver resection and liver transplantation.Case reports,reviews,letters,editorials,conference abstracts and papers with full-text unavailability were excluded from the analysis.Results:Most of the current literature is based on observational retrospective studies with low grades of evidence.Liver resection has better long-term outcomes than systemic chemotherapy or palliation ther-apy and liver transplantation is a good alternative for selected patients with unresectable phCCC.All candidates for resection or transplantation should be medically fit and free of intrahepatic or extrahep-atic diseases.As a general rule,patients presenting with a tumor having a longitudinal size>3 cm or extending below the cystic duct,lymph node disease,confirmed extrahepatic dissemination;intraoper-atively diagnosed metastatic disease;a history of other malignancies within the last five years,and did not complete chemoradiation regimen and were medically unfit should not be considered for transplan-tation.Some of these criteria should be individually assessed.Liver transplantation or resection should only be considered in highly experienced hepatobiliary centers,and any decision-making must be based on a multidisciplinary evaluation.Conclusions:phCCC is a complex condition with high morbidity.Surgical therapies,including hepatec-tomy and liver transplantation,are the best option for better long-term disease-free survival.

FEASIBILITY STUDY OF AN ULTRASOUND CONTRAST AGENT(LEVOVIST) IN COLOR DOPPLER IMAGING OF LIVER NEOPLASMS

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of using an ultrasound contrast agent(levovist)to enhance the color Doppler imaging of liver neoplasms.Thirty patients with hepatic tumors were enrolled in this study.After intravenous administration of levovist,the color Doppler signals of normal hepatic vessels were enhanced.In various hepatic tumors,the different patterns of tumor vascularity were observed,which had not been demonstrated in conventional non contrast color Doppler imaging.In 11 of 16 patients with hepatocarcinoma,additional color Doppler signals were observed in the central part of the tumors.On the contrary,3 patients with metastatic liver lesions the enhanced color Doppler signals appear only at the peripheral of tumors.A typical rim like color enhancement was seen in 2 of the 3 cases.In six patients with hepatic hemangiomas contrast enhanced color Doppler imaging demonstrated the blood vessels at the margin of the neoplasms.Contrast enhanced color Doppler imaging improves the visualization of the hepatic neoplasm vascularity.This technique holds great promise for detecting small liver tumors and differentiating hepatic neoplasms.

Simultaneous liver mucinous cystic and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the bile duct:A case report

Cystic hepatic neoplasms are rare tumors,and are classified into two separate entities:mucinous cystic neoplasms(MCNs)and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the bile duct(IPMN-B).We report the case of a 56-year-old woman who presented with abdominal pain and jaundice due to the presence of a large hepatic multilocular cystic tumor associated with an intraductal tumor.Partial hepatectomy with resection of extrahepatic bile ducts demonstrated an intrahepatic MCN and an intraductal IPMN-B.This is the first report of the simultaneous occurrence of these two histologically distinct entities in the liver.

Synchronous manifestation of colorectal cancer and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms

High rates of extrapancreatic malignancies,in particular colorectal cancer(CRC),have been detected in patients with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm(IPMN).So far,there is no distinct explanation in the literature for the development of secondary or synchronous malignancies in patients with IPMN.In the past few years,some data related to common genetic alterations in IPMN and other affiliated cancers have been published.This review elucidated the association between IPMN and CRC,shedding light on the most relevant genetic alterations that may explain the possible relationship between these entities.In keeping with our findings,we suggested that once the diagnosis of IPMN is made,special consideration of CRC should be undertaken.Presently,there are no specific guidelines regarding colorectal screening programs for patients with IPMN.We recommend that patients with IPMNs are at high-risk for CRC,and a more rigorous colorectal surveillance program should be implemented.

Application of two-phase helical CT in liver neoplasms

Objective: To assess the value of helical CT in the di- agnosis of liver diseases. Methods: 59 patients with different liver diseases were examined by two-phase or multi-phase dynamic helical CT. Results: Small hepatocellular carcinoma showed a higher density in the arterial phase, and a lower den- sity in the portal vein phase. Large hepatic carcino- ma showed a mixed pattern of higher-density in the arterial phase, and a lower density in the portal vein phase. Metastasis carcinoma showed an 'oxeye sign' in the portal vein phase. Hemangioma was not obvi- ously enhanced in the early arterial phase, marginal- ly enhanced in the arterial phase, and equally-densed in the balanced phase. Conclusion: Two-phase helical CT is of value in im- proving the detection rate of or determining the fea- tures of hepatic diseases by two-phase helical dyna- mic scan (2.0-3.0 ml/s speed, and delay time 25- 30 s and 70-85 s).

Genetics of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: From susceptibility and nutrient interactions to management

Genetics plays an important role in determining the susceptibility of an individual to develop a disease. Complex, multi factorial diseases of modern day(diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and obesity) are a result of disparity between the type of food consumed and genes, suggesting that food which does not match the host genes is probably one of the major reasons for developing life style diseases. Non-alcoholic fatty liver is becoming a global epidemic leading to substantial morbidity. While various genotyping approaches such as whole exome sequencing using next generation sequencers and genome wide association studies have identified susceptibility loci for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) including variants in patatin-like phospholipase domain containing 3 and transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2 genes apart from others; nutrient based studies emphasized on a combination of vitamin D, E and omega-3 fatty acids to manage fatty liver disease. However majority of the studies were conducted independent of each other and very few studies explored the interactions between the genetic susceptibility and nutrient interactions. Identifying such interactions will aid in optimizing the nutrition tailor made to an individual's genetic makeup, thereby aiding in delaying the onset of the disease and its progression. The present topic focuses on studies that identified the genetic susceptibility for NAFLD, nutritional recommendations, and their interactions for better management of NAFLD.

Liver-directed therapies for liver metastases from neuroendocrine neoplasms:Can laser ablation play any role?

Aggressive cytoreduction can prolong survival in patients with unresectable liver metastases(LM)from neuroendocrine neoplasms(NEN),and minimally invasive,liver-directed therapies are gaining increasing interest.Catheter-based treatments are used in disseminated disease,whereas ablation techniques are usually indicated when the number of LM is limited.Although radiofrequency ablation(RFA)is by far the most used ablative technique,the goal of this opinion review is to explore the potential role of laser ablation(LA)in the treatment of LM from NEN.LA uses thinner needles than RFA,and this is an advantage when the tumors are in at-risk locations.Moreover,the multi-fiber technique enables the use of one to four laser fibers at once,and each fiber provides an almost spherical thermal lesion of 12-15 mm in diameter.Such a characteristic enables to tailor the size of each thermal lesion to the size of each tumor,sparing the liver parenchyma more than any other liver-directed therapy,and allowing for repeated treatments with low risk of liver failure.A recent retrospective study reporting the largest series of LM treated with LA documents both safety and effectiveness of LA,that can play a useful role in the multimodality approach to LM from NEN.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease heterogeneity: Need of subtyping

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease(MASLD)is a widespread global disease with significant health burden.Unhealthy lifestyle,obesity,diabetes mellitus(DM),insulin resistance,and genetics have been implicated in the pathogenesis of MASLD.A significant degree of heterogeneity exists among each of above-mentioned risk factors.Heterogeneity of these risk factors translates into the heterogeneity of MASLD.On the other hand,MASLD can itself lead to insulin resistance and DM.Such heterogeneity makes it difficult to assess the natural course of an individual with MASLD in clinical practice.At present MASLD is considered as one disease despite the variability of etiopathogenic processes,and we lack the consensus definitions of unique subtypes of MASLD.In this review,pathogenic processes of MASLD are discussed and a need of subtyping is recommended.

COVID-19-related liver injury:Focus on genetic and drug-induced perspectives

BACKGROUND Empirical use of potentially hepatotoxic drugs in the management of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)infection is considered as one of the major etiopathogenetic factors for liver injury.Recent evidence has shown that an underlying genetic factor may also occur.Hence,it is important to understand the host genetics and iatrogenic-based mechanisms for liver dysfunction to make timely remedial measures.AIM To investigate drug-induced and genetic perspectives for the development of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)-related liver injury.METHODS Reference Citation Analysis,PubMed,Google Scholar and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched by employing the relevant MeSH keywords and pertaining data of the duration,site and type of study,sample size with any subgroups and drug-induced liver injury outcome.Genetic aspects were extracted from the most current pertinent publications.RESULTS In all studies,the hepatic specific aminotransferase and other biochemical indices were more than their prescribed upper normal limit in COVID-19 patients and were found to be significantly related with the gravity of disease,hospital stay,number of COVID-19 treatment drugs and worse clinical outcomes.In addition,membrane bound O-acyltransferase domain containing 7 rs641738,rs11385942 G>GA at chromosome 3 gene cluster and rs657152 C>A at ABO blood locus was significantly associated with severity of livery injury in admitted SARS-CoV-2 patients.CONCLUSION Hepatic dysfunction in SARS-CoV-2 infection could be the result of individual drugs or due to drug-drug interactions and may be in a subset of patients with a geneticpropensity. Thus, serial estimation of hepatic indices in hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 patients shouldbe done to make timely corrective actions for iatrogenic causes to avoid clinical deterioration.Additional molecular and translational research is warranted in this regard.

Advances in pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: From genetics to lipidomics

As a result of the obesity epidemic,non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)represents a global medical concern in childhood with a closely related increased cardiometabolic risk.Knowledge on NAFLD pathophysiology has been largely expanded over the last decades.Besides the well-known key NAFLD genes(including the I148M variant of the PNPLA3 gene,the E167K allele of the TM6SF2,the GCKR gene,the MBOAT7-TMC4 rs641738 variant,and the rs72613567:TA variant in the HSD17B13 gene),an intriguing pathogenic role has also been demonstrated for the gut microbiota.More interestingly,evidence has added new factors involved in the“multiple hits”theory.In particular,omics determinants have been highlighted as potential innovative markers for NAFLD diagnosis and treatment.In fact,different branches of omics including metabolomics,lipidomics(in particular sphingolipids and ceramides),transcriptomics(including micro RNAs),epigenomics(such as DNA methylation),proteomics,and glycomics represent the most attractive pathogenic elements in NAFLD development,by providing insightful perspectives in this field.In this perspective,we aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of NAFLD pathophysiology in children,from the oldest pathogenic elements(including genetics)to the newest intriguing perspectives(such as omics branches).

Prevalence and outcomes of pancreatic cystic neoplasms in liver transplant recipients

AIM To determine the prevalence,characteristics and clinical course of pancreatic cystic neoplasms(PCNs) in liver transplantation(LT) recipients.METHODS We retrospectively studied consecutive patients who underwent LT between January 1998 to April 2016. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained from patient medical records. Imaging findings on computed tomography and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography were reviewed by two radiologists.RESULTS During the study period,872 patients underwent cadaveric LT. Pancreatic cysts were identified in 53/872(6.1%) and 31/53(58.5%) were PCNs [28 intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm(IPMN),2 mucinous cystic neoplasm(MCN),1 serous cystadenoma]. Patients with PCNs exhibited less male predominance(55% vs 73%,P = 0.03) compared to patients without pancreatic cysts. Thirteen patients(42%) were diagnosed with PCN pre-LT while 18 patients(58%) developed PCN post-LT. The median size of PCNs was 13 mm [interquartile range(IQR) 10-20 mm]. All IPMNs were side-branch type. Most PCNs were found in the head and body of pancreas(37% each),followed by the tail(25%). Five patients underwent further evaluation with endoscopic ultrasound. Progress imaging was performed on 81% of patients. PCNs remained stable in size and number in all but 2 patients. During a median follow up of 39 mo(IQR 26-58 mo),the 2(6%) patients with MCN underwent pancreatectomy. No PCN patient developed pancreatic adenocarcinoma,while 5 died from illnesses unrelated to the PCN. Among patients without PCN,1/841(0.1%) developed pancreatic adenocarcinoma.CONCLUSION The prevalence of PCNs in LT recipients was similar to the general population(3.6%,31/872). Side-branch IPMNs do not appear to have accelerated malignant potential in post-LT patients,indicating the current surveillance guidelines are applicable to this group.

Immune remodulation in pediatric inherited metabolic liver diseases

Inherited metabolic liver diseases arise from genetic mutations that lead to dis-ruptions in liver metabolic pathways and are predominantly observed in pedia-tric populations.The spectrum of genetic metabolic liver disorders is diverse,encompassing a range of conditions associated with aberrations in iron,copper,carbohydrate,lipid,protein,and amino acid metabolism.Historically,research in the domain of genetic metabolic liver diseases has predominantly concentrated on hepatic parenchymal cell alterations.Nevertheless,emerging studies suggest that inherited metabolic liver diseases exert significant influences on the immune microenvironment,both within the liver and systemically.This review endeavors to encapsulate the immunological features of genetic metabolic liver diseases,aiming to expand the horizons of researchers in this discipline,and to elucidate the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms pertinent to hereditary metabolic liver diseases and to propose innovative therapeutic approaches.

Investigating the causal associations between five anthropometric indicators and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease:Mendelian randomization study

BACKGROUND Although the etiology of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)has not been thoroughly understood,the emerging roles of anthropometric indicators in assessing and predicting the risk of NAFLD have been highlighted by accumulating evidence.AIM To evaluate the causal relationships between five anthropometric indicators and NAFLD employing Mendelian randomization(MR)design.METHODS The Anthropometric Consortium provided genetic exposure data for five anthropometric indicators,including hip circumference(HC),waist circumference(WC),waist-to-hip ratio(WHR),body mass index(BMI),and body fat percentage(BF).Genetic outcome data for NAFLD were obtained from the United Kingdom Biobank and FinnGen Consortium.Genome-wide significant single nucleotide polymorphisms were chosen as instrumental variables.Univariable MR(UVMR)and multivariable MR(MVMR)designs with analytical approaches,including inverse variance weighted(IVW),MR-Egger,weighted median(WM),and weighted mode methods,were used to assess the causal relationships between anthropometric indicators and NAFLD.RESULTS Causal relationships were revealed by UVMR,indicating that a higher risk of NAFLD was associated with a perunit increase in WC[IVW:odds ratio(OR)=2.67,95%CI:1.42-5.02,P=2.25×10^(−3)],and BF was causally associated with an increased risk of NAFLD(WM:OR=2.23,95%CI:1.07-4.66,P=0.033).The presence of causal effects of WC on the decreased risk of NAFLD was supported by MVMR after adjusting for BMI and smoking.However,no causal association between BF and NAFLD was observed.In addition,other causal relationships of HC,WHR(BMI adjusted),and BMI with the risk of NAFLD were not retained after FDR correction.CONCLUSION This study establishes a causal relationship,indicating that an increase in WC is associated with a higher risk of NAFLD.This demonstrates that a suitable decrease in WC is advantageous for preventing NAFLD.

Molecular targets and mechanisms of different aberrant alternative splicing in metastatic liver cancer

Metastasis remains a major challenge in the successful management of malignant diseases.The liver is a major site of metastatic disease and a leading cause of death from gastrointestinal malignancies such as colon,stomach,and pancreatic cancers,as well as melanoma,breast cancer,and sarcoma.As an important factor that influences the development of metastatic liver cancer,alternative splicing drives the diversity of RNA transcripts and protein subtypes,which may provide potential to broaden the target space.In particular,the dysfunction of splicing factors and abnormal expression of splicing variants are associated with the occurrence,progression,aggressiveness,and drug resistance of cancers caused by the selective splicing of specific genes.This review is the first to provide a detailed summary of the normal splicing process and alterations that occur during metastatic liver cancer.It will cover the role of alternative splicing in the mechanisms of metastatic liver cancer by examining splicing factor changes,abnormal splicing,and the contribution of hypoxia to these changes during metastasis.