Adult stem cells in progression and therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most aggressive solid tumours associated with poor prognosis. Despite its significance, there is only an elemental understanding of the mechanisms that drive disease pathogenesis, and there are just limited therapy options. The medical community is currently experiencing a wave of enthusiasm for clinical trials, in which adult stem/progenitor cells are used for liver regeneration. This is based on promising results in animal models and encouraging reports from some initial clinical studies. On the other hand, several essential precautions are not being fully addressed. Stem cells may contribute to fibrosis or give rise to hepatic cancer stem cells as a source of hepatocellular carcinoma. This review outlines the current state of knowledge in progression of liver disease and highlights the function of adult stem cells in disease and therapy.
Herr
Ingrid
I
Department of General Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.|Molecular OncoSurgery, Department of General Surgery, University of Heidelberg and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Groth
Ariane
A
Department of General Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.|Molecular OncoSurgery, Department of General Surgery, University of Heidelberg and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Schemmer
Peter
P
Department of General Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Büchler
Markus W
MW
Department of General Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
D053687:Adult Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000637:transplantation*; D000818:Animals; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D012038:Regeneration