title: Oncogenic role of the Notch pathway in primary liver cancer.
abstract: Primary liver cancer, which includes hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and fibrolamellar HCC, is one of the most common malignancies and the third leading cause of cancer-associated mortality, worldwide. Despite the development of novel therapies, the prognosis of liver cancer patients remains extremely poor. Thus, investigation of the genetic background and molecular mechanisms underlying the development and progression of this disease has gained significant attention. The Notch signaling pathway is a crucial determinant of cell fate during development and disease in several organs. In the liver, Notch signaling is involved in biliary tree development and tubulogenesis, and is also significant in the development of HCC and ICC. These findings suggest that the modulation of Notch pathway activity may have therapeutic relevance. The present review summarizes Notch signaling during HCC and ICC development and discusses the findings of recent studies regarding Notch expression, which reveal novel insights into its function in liver cancer progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yujing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Kan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, P.R. China; Department of Gastroenterology, The First Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jianrong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, P.R. China; Department of Gastroenterology, The First Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wenxia
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, P.R. China; Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215006, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yingqun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Chuanyong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guo
keywords: Notch signaling pathway; cancer stem cells; hepatocellular carcinoma; intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma