title: Hepatic stellate cells in inflammation-fibrosis-carcinoma axis.
abstract: Almost 80% of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases are associated with chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis resulting from inflammation and fibrosis. A three-step process of "inflammation-fibrosis-carcinoma" is believed to be involved in hepatocarcinogenesis. The activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) may serve as an important mediator in the process of inflammation-fibrosis-carcinoma axis, even in tumor metastasis. A remarkable knowledge of activated HSCs in the pathology of HCC development is mostly focused on the liver fibrosis. The molecular links that connects inflammation and cancer in the activation of HSC are not completely known. This highlights urgent need to increase our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms, by which activation of HSCs is involved in the hepatic inflammation, carcinogenesis, and metastasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Bin-Bin
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jun-Yao
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Hong-Hao
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhi-Nan
authors.initials: ZN
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Huijie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bian
mesh_terms: D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000473:pathology*; D055166:Hepatic Stellate Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000473:pathology*; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000473:pathology*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D015398:Signal Transduction